“The municipality of Canelones has decided to be at the forefront of its health policy in addressing all unresolved health problems that the population really needs. As far as hepatitis C is concerned, Mayor Amandou Orsi heard When he learned about the situation that the country was facing in this matter, he decided to take the necessary measures to help citizens eradicate this disease with practical actions.
When we got involved with this topic, we were surprised to learn that there are no epidemiological studies in Uruguay, and that it is the patients who have to fight for every achievement. People infected with the virus may not know for years that they have a silent disease that is completely curable if caught in time.
How is the district working to prevent the spread of the disease?
“Since the end of 2019, the government has been working continuously, and at the beginning of 2020, we committed to include rapid testing in the services normally provided by the government of the Canary Islands. We included this service in Móviles Canarios de Salud, with the Awareness is growing and we have also signed an agreement with the HepCityFree initiative created in Spain, which has had a very successful hepatitis C eradication campaign.
It’s also included in driver’s licences, as fast-track tests are available for free to soon-to-be licensed drivers. The same is being done with the Canelones Salud Integral program, through which more than 8,550 people have passed, and we encourage neighbors to take the test along with other services offered by the Mayor.