Ensemble Moncton is reminding the public the chances of getting infected from a discarded needle in the community is very low.
According to Community Outreach Worker Abbi Ryder, the most recent study on Hepatitis C shows it typically lives outside the body for 16 hours, but can last up to four days at room temperature in perfect conditions.
“Of course, outside on our street is not perfect condition, we could have minus 30 degree [Celsius] weather, and three months later, or six months later, it’s plus 30 degrees [Celsius], so it’s obviously not going to live very long in that type of weather,” says Ryder.
Ryder says even if you do happen to contract Hep C, there is a treatment and a cure, but also “your body is actually able to just fight it off by itself.”
She adds the risk of contracting Hep C in a healthcare environment is one to two per cent, but she cautions that is a very different scenario than for needles found in public settings.
Ryder says in the case of healthcare environments, the blood is usually fresh, which makes transmission more likely, as opposed to in a public setting where the needles are subject to environmental degradation.
In addition, since 1995, the Hep B vaccine is part of the Routine Immunization Schedule for children in New Brunswick set by the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
“And then there’s Hepatitis D,” Ryder continues, saying “which can also be contracted through blood, however it can’t live without Hepatitis B in your system already, and as I said before there’s a vaccine already, so the chances of contracting that is slim to none.”
A presentation by Ensemble Moncton to Moncton City Council was made on September 4th to help ‘clear the air’ about the risks associated with discarded needles.
