We didn't have gloves or goggles back then. He was stunned when the virus showed up in his blood. It was tough to take. The findings have galvanized local and national politicians to come to the firefighters' aid. Philadelphia union president George Casey has heard from firefighters in New Jersey, Rhode Island, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, and Hawaii.
Most experts say no.
The danger may even be lower than the general population's. These include 1993 research by the Division of Infectious Disease at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, a 1995 CDC study of hospital-based surgeons, and a 1996 a study of orthopedic surgeons by the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases. All but a few of the Philadelphia firefighters testing positive are 45 or older. And hepatitis C is known to incubate as long as 20 to 30 years, Brownstein says. Or the problem may lie with the union's data.