Ontario man walks in for COVID-19 vaccine, leaves with life-saving diagnosis
Fifty-three year-old Mike Mansor recently walked into a COVID-19 immunization clinic for a life-saving vaccine and walked away with a life-saving diagnosis—having received not just a jab to the arm, but a prick to the finger.
The Toronto resident had vowed to prioritize his health after quitting heroin at the beginning of the year, when his partner suffered an overdose scare involving fentanyl.
“It feels like something that’s going to be more permanent, and so I decided that it is probably the best time to start treating myself well,” Mansor told CTV Toronto.
And so he jumped at the chance to take a rapid antibody test for Hepatitis C after receiving his COVID-19 vaccination at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) a month ago. The University Health Network’s Viral Hepatitis Care Network (VIRCAN) had set up a pop-up screening booth there, and was offering the five-minute test to people waiting the required 15 minutes in the vaccine aftercare area.
“As straightforward as it can be,” Mansor said of the process, which involved a quick test of a blood drop drawn from his fingertip.
The initial result revealed that he had been exposed to the hepatitis C virus, and a subsequent blood sample confirmed his liver disease.
Hepatitis C is often dubbed "a silent killer," since half of people infected don’t know they have the virus until it is quite advanced.
“It typically will have no symptoms, and a diagnosis is only made by active screening,” Dr. Hemant Shah, a liver specialist with the University Health Network told CTV Toronto.
Mike Mansor, right, is receiving life-saving treatment after being diagnosed with Hepatitis C following a rapid antibody test at the CAMH COVID-19 vaccine clinic. (Natalie Johnson/CTV News Toronto)
“By the time you develop symptoms from Hepatitis C, it’s usually very late in the disease course, and we want to identify people much much earlier so we can give them curative treatments.”
Untreated Hepatitis C can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. It is also the leading cause of liver transplantation in the world—but is curable with treatment.
The VIRCAN screening pop-up has been operating at the CAMH COVID-19 vaccine clinic since mid-May, and has already identified 26 positive exposures among 2020 people tested.
The initiative has been designed to boost preventative care for the virus, which declined significantly during the pandemic. The World Health Organization has estimated that an additional 72,000 deaths will occur by 2030 among people with chronic hepatitis C infections that were undiagnosed due to the testing slowdown.
“Point of care testing really allows us to do screening for Hepatitis C in non-traditional settings such as a vaccine clinic,” Dr. Renee Logan, CAMH’s infection prevention and control medical director said Wednesday,
“This really allows us to bring screening to people who may otherwise have barriers to traditional health care.”
People deemed to be high-risk of contracting hepatitis include those who have used injection drugs, those who received blood or blood products or an organ transplant before July 1990 in Canada, or those who have been injected or scratched during a vaccination, surgery, or blood transfusion in regions where the virus is common, according to the Canadian Liver Foundation.
Treatment for the disease is often as simple as oral medication taken for up to 12 weeks; Mansor, who is now receiving this medication, credits it as his cure.
“I want to start treating myself well,” he said Wednesday, which is also World Hepatitis Day. “So I start with the most obvious route, which is to get rid of my Hep C infection.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.