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Susie Lugo, a hepatitis C case manager and educator with the Spanish American Civic Association in Lancaster, tells a young adult about the dangers of the virus, which can be transmitted through tattoo application. Arisleyda Calderon of the York Spanish American Center helped Lugo spread her message by introducing her to store owners and community leaders in York.<br />&middot; <a href="">E-mail photo</a><br />&middot; <a href="">Order photo reprint</a><br />
At bottom:  · TO BE TESTED
Sep 5, 2006 — Susie Lugo walked up and down South Queen Street, stopping people with tattoos and anyone else who would listen to her talk about hepatitis C risk factors.

On Thursday, she is starting a free and confidential testing program at York Spanish American Center.

It will be the first such community testing offered in York that she knows of for what has become a major health problem in Hispanic and black populations in America.

Hepatitis C can lead to inflammation of the liver and chronic liver disease. The virus is the leading reason for liver transplants in the United States and about a third of people who have HIV also have hepatitis C, according to the state Department of Health.

Cases of hepatitis C are increasing in York County, state health officials said in May.

At Caribe Grocery Store on South Queen Street, Lopez hands a flier and brochure to a 22-year-old biracial man whose forearms are tattooed.

She tells him tattoos are a risk factor.

"They all (were) done in the shop," the man tells Lugo.

"That's good," she said, but added, "Sometimes, it's not the needle. It's the ink.



One of the misconceptions is hepatitis C can only be transferred through tattoos if the shop uses the same needle on multiple customers.

Lugo said this is wrong. Hepatitis C can live outside the body at room temperature on surfaces such as tabletops or razors from 16 hours to four days, which is longer than HIV can survive in those conditions.

If someone's blood from a tattoo gets into an inkpot, the disease can be transferred. Or, if someone infected with hepatitis C has used a device to snort cocaine, a subsequent user of the device can contract the disease.

The man, who declined to give his name, said he knows people who have gotten their tattoos for cheap on the street, and as a result, contracted hepatitis C.

He kept a brochure but said he didn't plan to get tested.

Lugo, a phlebotomist - an expert on veins - is running the program. She has performed hepatitis C testing in Lancaster's Nuestra Clinica Educational and Prevention Services at its Spanish American Center for about two years. She believes that testing program has been around longer.

Lugo said that when she first arrived at York's center, she saw a drug transaction take place across the street as she parked her car. That event confirmed her desire to get the word out for hepatitis C testing.

Intravenous drug use is one of the major ways the virus is transmitted because it moves from person to person through blood.

Other ways include what are considered risky sex acts, such as anal sex with a person who has the virus, and blood transfusions and organ transplants.

Unlike Lancaster's testing program, the York program has no funding, but Lugo said she believed it was important to bring the testing to York. York's Spanish Center has given Lugo an office.

One problem with hepatitis C is that many who are infected don't know it, she said. The symptoms are common and can easily be ignored - fatigue, stress and nausea.

Doris Martinez, who owns Doris' Place: Restaurant and Bakery on South Queen Street with her husband, Eddie, took the fliers.

"The Spanish people know nothing about this," Doris said.

Three million Mexican Americans and 8 million black Americans have hepatitis C, said Kimberly Furman, a physician assistant at Gastroenterology Associates of York in York Township. Furman's office treats individuals with hepatitis C.

"African Americans and Mexican Americans don't respond as favorably to treatment as Caucasians," Furman said. "We don't know why that is, but we know it is harder to get rid of the virus."

Of the two groups, the virus is harder to treat in black Americans.

Furman said it's good the Spanish center is offering free testing.

Family doctors don't usually pick up that a person has hepatitis C unless they notice elevated liver enzymes on a test. Not all people with the virus will have those elevated enzymes, she said.

So family doctors must consider a patient's social history, including drug use, tattoos and body piercing.

"There is a great need (for testing)," Lugo said. "Especially where income is low."


What: Free and confidential hepatitis C testing at the York Spanish American Center

When: 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday

Where: York Spanish American Center's clinic, 221 E. Princess St.

Regular future dates and times: To be determined

For details: Call York Spanish American Center at 846-9434, or Susie Lugo, who is running the York program but usually works out of the Lancaster Spanish American Center, at 295-7984.