The Cherokee Nation is on a mission to eliminate Hepatitis C, which officials call an epidemic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the highest increase in Hepatitis C incidence from 2000 to 2013 was among Native Americans.
Dr. Jorge Mera oversees Cherokee Nation Health Services’ infectious diseases division. He said the first step is screening everyone age 20–69 for Hepatitis C, even though two out of three Americans with the disease were born between 1945 and 1965.
"Because one difference between our population and the rest of the U.S. is that 40 percent of the people who are infected in Cherokee Nation do not fit that Baby Boomer criteria," Mera said. "So, they were born outside that range."
Cherokee officials estimate there may be 5,000 citizens infected with the virus. Opiates are part of the problem — 73 percent of cases involve intravenous drug users. Mera advocates treatment as prevention.
"Meaning, if I see a patient who is actively using drugs, of course I'm going to try to help them get referred to a rehab center, but in the meantime, I'm going to treat his Hepatitis C," Mera said. "Because if I clear his virus, he will not transmit it to other people."
Mera said a needle exchange program could be very successful in slowing the spread of Hepatitis C, but such programs are currently illegal in Oklahoma.
Mera said the goal is screening 85 percent of citizens and curing 85 percent of cases. Principal Chief Bill John Baker declared Friday "Hepatitis C Awareness Day."
