North Dakota Urging Citizens To Get Hepatitis C Test

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Health Department is encouraging residents to undergo testing for hepatitis C.

Tuesday is National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day. State health officials say people can get tested at no charge at several locations across the state. Those locations are listed on the agency's website.

Officials say as many as 75 percent of those infected with chronic hepatitis C do not know they are infected.

Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can cause serious liver damage or even death. It's transmitted when a non-infected person comes into contact with the blood of an infected person and the virus enters the body through a break in the skin.