Thursday was World Hepatitis Day in Windsor and hundreds gathered at The Downtown Mission to raise awareness.
One in 12 people in the world are living with Hepatitis B or C - as many as 600,000 in Canada alone - according to the Windsor-Essex Community Health Centre.
Hepatitis C Coordinator Tamara Bechard tells AM800 News everyone should be tested regularly because many people don't even know they have the disease.
"It can go about 15 or 20 years before you're going to have any symptoms. The highest cause of liver cancer and liver transplant is a person who has untreated hepatitis B or C," she says.
The 6th annual World Hepatitis Day BBQ is underway @downtownmission. #cklw pic.twitter.com/lj6LSKHZfb
— Gord Bacon (@baconAM800) July 26, 2018
She says the Downtown Mission was chosen as the venue for the event because the majority of Hep C infected people are found living on the streets.
"In the past we've done a more general event and now we're partnering with the mission to reach a bigger group of our demographic," she says.
Bechard says Hep C is primarily transmitted through the exchange of blood, and since intravenous drug use is closely associated with drug use; the mission is where they want the awareness campaign to kick off from.
"They are one of the highest risk populations due to the lifestyle that they're living. They're around people who are using injection drugs, or maybe become vulnerable to use themselves," says Bechard.
Bechard says anyone who wants to be tested for Hepatitis can visit the Windsor-Essex Community Health Centre.