The president of the Dominican Gastroenterology Society, Dr. Diogenes Garcia reported the startling information that the number of persons infected with hepatitis C in the DR has increased with the increase in the use of intravenous drugs, and the proliferation of tattoos and piercings by young people. Sex with multiple partners is another transmitter of the disease, and so is the use of utensils used by an infected person. Garcia said that in 2001, the infected population was 0.69% of the approximately eight million Dominicans and that this figure had doubled according to statistics for 2004. Hepatitis C is a disease characterized by a swelling of the liver that can degenerate into cancer or cirrhosis. Liver transplants cost US$300,000 these days.
Garcia spoke at the closing ceremonies of the XIV International Symposium on the Liver, an international forum on the liver attended by foreign specialists. The event was sponsored by the Dominican Gastroenterological Society. Key speakers were Dr. Rafael Esteban Mur, of the Valley of Hebron University Hospital of Barcelona, Spain, and Dr. Maria Buti from the same hospital.