A MOTHER-OF-FOUR is featured in a new video filmed to raise awareness of the life-threatening disease she caught, which was diagnosed just in time.
Shabana Begum, of Almondbury, travelled down to London to shoot the film about her experiences of hepatitis C for an NHS documentary.
The 42-year-old has campaigned since she was diagnosed with hepatitis C back in 2004.
She believes she was infected by a doctor’s needle on a trip to Pakistan to visit family when she was only 13.
The video on the NHS website aims to educate people on the symptoms of hepatitis C and encourages people to seek help from a health professional if they are worried.
Shabana said: “I was really ill and I didn’t know what was wrong with me at the time.
“I was suffering from depression and irritable bowel syndrome and was on medication for that, but I thought I needed to find out what was wrong.
“I couldn’t cope very with my kids at the time because I was feeling so bad and depressed and out of control.
“I remember locking myself in the bedroom for hours crying and in the end the kids were getting a bit neglected.”
Shabana decided to go to the local doctors and was tested for HIV and hepatitis.
She was cleared of the virus after six months of treatment but has continued to campaign, especially in Asian communities.
Family back in Pakistan have died from the disease and Shabana said people should be careful when visiting relatives there.
She said: “A lot of people confuse hepatitis A, B and C. Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can be passed on through the blood or through unprotected sex.
“Drug-users are particularly at risk because of sharing needles. If you don’t catch it early it can lead to cirrhosis which causes problems with your liver.”
Shabana has also appeared on YTV’s Calendar news to promote the dangerous virus and was interviewed on BBC Radio Leeds.
