By PAUL HARASIM / RJ
A number of veterans as
well as doctors now
believe that Vietnam
veterans...could have
contracted hepatitis C
through unsafe jet gun
vaccinations.
While it’s possible the government’s position on transmission of hepatitis C among boomers may have resulted in less testing, it’s critical today boomers forget any fears of stigma and get the easy blood test.
A
study conducted
on a
predominately
military
population found
that those
infected with
HCV were three
times more
likely to have a
tattoo as their
risk factor.
It was standard
for soldiers to
get a tattoo of
their command
and most of time
were pressured
into it.
Dhalla S, et al "Strong
Association Between
Tattoos and HCV
Virus Infection:
A Multicenter Study
of 3,871 Patients"
AASLD Meeting 2007;
Abstract 136
presented Nov. 5.
Conclusion: "The HCV
infected population
(veterans) was 3
times more likely to
have a tattoo."
Still today
there's pressure
from command on
service members to
tattoo current duty
station/unit logo on
their body.
Warning this picture is very
graphic... Body Modifications
