Home tattooists are the new front line of a rapidly
morphing war against hepatitis C. There is no vaccine for the
disease which is causing liver cancer at an alarming rate.
Otago hep C patients, tattoo artists and health advocates are
among those calling for nationwide changes that could see
this long-stigmatised virus eradicated within our lifetime,
writes Bruce Munro.
Angela Stenersen is about to begin a year-long treatment to
try to rid her body of hepatitis C. The trainee Dunedin
photographer will be taking daily doses of drugs so powerful
she will not be able to study. It is the price she is paying
for going under the gun of a home tattooist.
On 37-year-old skin that has been the canvas for plenty of
elaborate body art, the small Rolling Stones tongue and lips
tattoo is as amateurish as it is seemingly innocuous.
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Labels: home tattoos, New Zealand