Hepatitis C Awareness

[teufelhunden01]

For all of you that received an intramuscular immune gamma globulin (the golf ball shot in the buttocks) in the 90's, here's some info for you. I recieved one in 1995 prior to my deployment to Haiti. Annotated in my health record is the manufacturer (Armour Pharmaceutical) and the lot number (M8012). In 2003 I was diagnosed with Chronic Hepatitis C. Through the Freedom of Information Act, I received from the FDA a letter written from the FDA to Armour dated June 13, 1996 requesting the pharmaceutical company test certain lots for the contamination of Hepatitis C. I have a letter from Armour to "Healthcare Providers" dated June 24, 1996 ordering the withdrawal of certain lots of IG products from the market manufactured after Dec 1994. I also received from the FDA a list of 19 lot numbers that were withdrawn and I have the testing results of lot M8012 conducted by the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research which shows the lot number positive for Hepatitis C. Check your health records Devil Dogs!

[TMM54]

File a claim now with the VA if you haven't already, and get a lawyer and sue the manufacturer. This is shameful, and Hep C can be and commonly is life-threatening.
Prayers for your health, brother.

[teufelhunden01]

I did file with the VA. As far as any legal action, the statue of repose is 6 years. It looks like the drug company got away with it. Now, there's a statue of repose on my life. There are 17,000 vials in one lot X 19 lots. How many people do you think were given the inoculation before Armour pulled those lots off the market. Me for one at MCAS Cherry Point.

[HereandThere]

For all of you that received an intramuscular immune gamma globulin (the golf ball shot in the buttocks) in the 90's, here's some info for you. I recieved one in 1995 prior to my deployment to Haiti. Annotated in my health record is the manufacturer (Armour Pharmaceutical) and the lot number (M8012). In 2003 I was diagnosed with Chronic Hepatitis C. Through the Freedom of Information Act, I received from the FDA a letter written from the FDA to Armour dated June 13, 1996 requesting the pharmaceutical company test certain lots for the contamination of Hepatitis C. I have a letter from Armour to "Healthcare Providers" dated June 24, 1996 ordering the withdrawal of certain lots of IG products from the market manufactured after Dec 1994. I also received from the FDA a list of 19 lot numbers that were withdrawn and I have the testing results of lot M8012 conducted by the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research which shows the lot number positive for Hepatitis C. Check your health records Devil Dogs!

My primary care doctor had asked me a couple of times if I wanted to get screened for Hep C and I saw no reason to bother.
I then read the front cover story by Newsweek that cited a study that said as many as 10% of Vietnam Veterans or 300,000 men had been exposed to Hep C.
I too received the Gamma Globulin in Okinawa in 1969 along with all the shots using those injection guns going back to boot camp,but at that time the Hep C virus was unknown and was not discovered intil 1989.
The next time I was asked if I wanted a screening I said yes and the results came back positive.I remember asking if it could be a false positive and the doctor said no and that they test the blood more than once.After that I was sent to the Hep C clinic for a viral load test and they couldn't find any virus.I was then sent for a highly sensitive test and again no virus.So their answer was I was exposed to the virus at some point in time and my immune system fought it off.All the doctor could say is I was lucky.
As far as I know Hep C is not compensatable by the VA,although That may have changed since I had the tests,which was about 6-7 years ago.
I think anyone who has served in the Military should get screened.It could save your life.