Australian rock legend Russell Morris has put his name and song to the See The Real Thing campaign, a move to de-stigmatise hepatitis C.
Russell Morris, Long Way To The Top: Photo Ros O'Gorman
It is estimated 226,000 Australians have Hepatitis C and the majority of those treated are cured but only 2% of people with the disease seek treatment.
“As someone from the entertainment industry, I have seen firsthand the impact of hepatitis C and let me tell you it’s not pretty,” Morris said in a statement. “Many people don’t like to disclose they have hep C, but many of us know of people close to us who have lost their lives to liver disease caused by hep C.”
“It can take 10 to 15 years for symptoms of hep C related liver disease to appear – and sometimes a lot longer. Because of this non-specific nature, lack of community awareness and low treatment rates, it is only now that we are starting to see the full impact of the hep C epidemic. It was back when my song “The Real Thing” was topping the charts when hepatitis C began to spread rapidly,” he said.
See The Real thing is a video competition that aims to produce a community service using an aspect of Russell’s song ‘The Real Thing’. Head to http://www.seetherealthing.com.au to download the components you need to create your video submission.
Russell’s album ‘Sharkmouth’ is currently number 4 on the ARIA Australian Artist Album chart.
