African Americans contracting hepatitis C at higher rates

Anyone who doesn't practice safer sex is at a high risk of developing a sexually transmitted disease (STD), but some groups report higher rates of infection than others. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that although African Americans only make up 12 percent of the population, they account for 22 percent of hepatitis C cases. 

In response to this statistic, BlackVoiceNews.com recently spoke to Ernest Levister, M.D., about understanding what is causing this disease to spread among the black community. Levister told the news source that there are many factors affecting this statistic for example, African Americans have a greater chance of contracting the infection.

"There is some speculation that African Americans are at greater risk of exposure [due to] an estimated 3 million African Americans are employed as health-care professionals and blood transfusions, which may be required to treat sickle cell anemia, which mostly affects African Americans," said Levister, quoted by the news source.

This suggests that many people have no idea they even have this STD because they have contracted it through unconventional means. Anyone who comes into contact with blood should get tested for infections.

The best way for people to protect themselves against hepatitis C and other STDs is through safer sex. This includes using condoms, getting tested regularly and having open communication with partners.