"HEPATITIS C VIRUS SURVIVES FOR THREE WEEKS"

New research by scientists at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference
Laboratory in Australia suggests that the hepatitis C virus can survive
outside of the body for up to three weeks at room temperature. According
to lab senior scientist Rhonda McCaw, the finding "certainly verifies the
need for needle exchanges." She noted that hepatitis C is readily
transmitted within the drug population and that the virus is probably
present on drug paraphernalia such as spoons and tourniquets, in addition
to needles and syringes. Over 10,000 new cases of hepatitis C occur
annually in Australia, which has recorded over 200,000 hepatitis C
infections.

Checked-by: Richard Lake