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Michael McLeod wants Health Canada to step up efforts to educate people about Hep C testing. “This is an issue that’s curable… I’m going to stay on this issue and continue to push the fact that we need a strategy,” says Liberal N.W.T. MP Michael McLeod.
The MP for the Northwest Territories is calling on the federal government to develop a national Hepatitis C education strategy.
McLeod said the Northwest Territories has one of the highest rates of Hepatitis C infection in the country.
According to the most recent data from Health Canada, the N.W.T. had a rate of 39.9 cases per 100,000 in 2013, the fifth highest rate in the country.
Michael McLeod used his member’s statement in the House of Commons on Monday to push for a voluntary testing regime for everyone born from 1945 through 1965.
“This is an issue that’s curable. There are new medications that have come out. So it’s something that can be handled relatively easy in today’s environment, and I’m going to stay on this issue and continue to push the fact that we need a strategy.”
Read complete article here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-mp-michael-macleod-hepatitis-c-testing-1.4033621