A mum is warning people of the dangers of contracting hepatitis C after losing her dad to the virus.
Gioia Dalosso Hemnell, 45, produced a documentary called 'Silent Epidemic' which put the spotlight on the virus and her 62-year-old dad’s battle with it. The 10-minute film included interviews with experts Professor Graham Foster and CEO of Hepatitis C Trust Rachel Halford as well as Gioia’s mum Sarah.
The mum-of-one recorded the programme while she was at John Moores University. Gioia is now a freelance reporter and has a particular interest in broadcast and health-based journalism.
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She is now in the process of adapting her university project into a longer production.
Her father Paul Wilcox was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2002 and broke the news to her over a family meal. Although he took prescribed pills in the final years of his life the treatment came too late and he died in 2017.
Gioia told the ECHO: “My dad used drugs intravenously between the ages of 17 and 22 years old. He must have had hepatitis C for a long time but did not know about it.
“He drank alcohol as well but used needles in the 70s. When he died I was so angry and upset, it took a while to process.
“People don’t understand the virus and many are unaware of how they can get it. When they go out to Turkey to get their teeth fixed or a hair transplant they didn't know the risks [of contracting it].”
There are more cases of hepatitis C in Turkey than in the UK, according to the UK Government. Hepatitis C spreads via blood to blood contact and can be passed on by sharing needles, toothbrushes and razors.
It can also move from a pregnant woman to an unborn child. Symptoms include loss of appetite, stomach ache and vomiting.
Gioia won a prestigious Royal Television award for her short film about the virus, she said: “I was really pleased, it’s the gold standard of documentary making. I’m really interested in health based journalism.
“I have an interest in broadcast journalism, it’s a really emotive way to tell a story.”
Hepatitis C can lead to acute or chronic infection, according to the World Health Organisation, and if it is left untreated the virus will cause liver inflammation which is life-threatening.
Modern medications are very effective at combating the illness and have slashed treatment times from one year to 12 weeks. The antiviral tablet Sofosbuvir, which was approved in the UK in 2014, is the most popular cure on the market.
Before the drug was given the green light Britons had to take a weekly injection (pegylated interferon) and a different capsule tablet (ribavirin). The WHO aim to eradicate the brutal infection by 2030 but Gioia is less optimistic.
According to the award-winning journalist, treatment can cost up to £55,000 per person, making it unaffordable for people without access to universal health care. Antiviral tablets cure 95% of cases but access is low worldwide, according to research.
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