"Viral Time Bomb”: Health and Human Rights Challenges in
Addressing Hepatitis C in Canada By conservative estimates,
hepatitis C (HCV) affects some 250,000–300,000 people in Canada.
A chronic illness that causes liver failure, liver cancer and
other serious health concerns, hepatitis C already weighs
heavily on the health care system. Its public health and
economic impact is expected to double in only a few years.
Today, over 90 percent of HCV transmission is linked to drug
injection, and federal and provincial responses to the problem
have been inconsistent and inadequate. This report looks at
current HCV-related policy and programs in Canada and outlines
steps that should be taken to prevent a potential explosion of
HCV. ||Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Centre for Addictions
Research of BC and Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health
and Addiction ||Women's Rights, Prisons, Drug Policy and Harm
Reduction, Aboriginal Communities