Particularly at risk are some baby boomers who may have dabbled in intravenous drug use and unprotected sexual contact in their youth – just two of the behaviors that increase the chance of getting hepatitis C.

“About 3 (million) to 4 million people are infected with hepatitis C,” said Dr. Linda Di Teodoro, a physician at a clinic here that specializes in liver and digestive diseases.

Another 3 million Americans are unaware they have the virus that leads to swelling and malfunction of the liver, which cleanses the body of toxins, produces bile to help digest food, stores material for your body to use later and makes other vital substances.

Di Teodoro said the problem is that hepatitis C doesn’t have many symptoms, just a flu-like feeling or fatigue.

Ramon Rodriguez, 48, said he could have lost his life to it. the risk began for him at age 13 when he started using alcohol and drugs and continued for the next 25 years.

“I just kept going and going and couldn’t seek that same euphoria high,” he said. his health problems from the abuse include cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis C.

“the majority of people who develop hepatitis C, about 60 (percent) to 85 percent of them, will develop chronic hepatitis and it does stay with us,” Di Teodoro said

For boomers born between 1946 and 1964, “they were a little more free at that time, and these viruses were not known at that time,” she said. “And people are now becoming aware of it 20, 30 years later.”

She said the key is getting checked by a doctor. Treatments can cure about 45 percent of those infected.

And treatments are on the way that would increase that cure rate to 70 percent. Rodriguez has two months left on his treatment and is already hepatitis C free.

“this is a testimony,” Rodriguez said. “I say today I’m alive by God’s grace only.”

Complications from hepatitis C cause 4,600 to 12,000 deaths a year in the United States. Besides IV drug use, other common transmission risks include getting tattoos with unclean needles and receiving donated blood or organs before 1992.