VCU Health hosts Twitter chat for Hepatitis Awareness Month

By Leha Byrd

VCU Health will host a Twitter chat with Richard Sterling, M.D., chief of hepatology for the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, to shed light on issues related to hepatitis, including new treatments.

Sterling’s Twitter chat will be held on May 12 from noon to 1 p.m.

May is Hepatitis Awareness Month. Nearly 20,000 people died of hepatitis C in 2014, a record high number according to the Centers for Disease Control. Many people carrying the virus may be unaware, because symptoms are often unnoticeable. Hepatitis C is a form of viral hepatitis transmitted in infected blood, causing chronic liver disease. The disease can also progress to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure.

Twitter users can follow and join the conversation using the hashtag #VCUHealthChat with @VCUHealth. Questions can be submitted in advance using this Twitter information.