Post-Traumatic Infection

By Christine Gorman

Among the many things I will never forget about Sept. 11 is the sight of New Yorkers gathering by the thousands to give blood. The lines outside the New York Blood Center stretched around the block, a scene repeated across the U.S. as blood donations tripled and many would-be donors had to be turned away.

Some folks who have tried to give--at least 150 in New York City--are getting calls and letters informing them that their blood has been rejected because it tested positive for various diseases, chief among them hepatitis, an infection of the liver. Cynics say no good deed goes unpunished, but this turn of events could be a blessing in disguise. Hepatitis treatments have progressed rapidly in recent years. To avail yourself of them, you first have to know what you're infected with.

Hepatitis doesn't usually get the kind of public attention given to, say, cancer or heart disease, so there's a lot of confusion out there about just what it is and what can be done to treat or prevent it.

For starters, the word hepatitis simply means inflammation of the liver. There's an alphabet soup of viruses that cause the inflammation, and treatment depends on which virus is to blame. Three viruses--A, B and C--cause most of the problems in the U.S.

Hepatitis A is the one you hear about when it strikes at restaurants, picnics or other large gatherings. Neither blood borne nor generally fatal, it's easily transmitted by an infected food handler. Washing your hands after going to the bathroom and before eating can help prevent its spread. There's also an effective vaccine.

Hepatitis B is not so easy to catch, but it's still serious. Each year it kills about 5,000 Americans, and many thousands more develop a chronic infection that in some cases will trigger liver cancer or other problems. The hepatitis-B virus is generally transmitted in utero from mother to child, through sexual activity or by close contact with infected blood. A vaccine is available.

Hepatitis C, like hepatitis B, seems to be transmitted most often through sexual contact or tainted blood. Hepatitis C, however, is much more likely to lead to serious complications. No vaccine is available, but last week researchers in Germany reported that giving interferon at the earliest stages of a hepatitis-C infection dramatically increases the chances of clearing the virus from the body.

A month after the attacks, Americans in record numbers are still donating blood. Unfortunately, the building collapses were so devastating that not much blood was needed. But there are still plenty of smaller emergencies for which donated blood can make a difference. We can't all become heroes by rushing into burning buildings; some of us just have to roll up our sleeves.

To learn more, visit cdc.gov or e-mail gorman@time.com