Business Wire - December 13, 2004
Hepatitis C, caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), is now the most common chronic blood-borne viral infection in the United States, affecting approximately four million people. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. It is the leading cause of death among those with HIV/AIDS and is the reason for an estimated 50% of liver transplants in this country. Hepatitis C causes 40-60 percent of all chronic liver disease, which is now the tenth leading cause of death among adults in the United States.
In 1998, the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House Government Reform Committee held a hearing entitled "Hepatitis C -- The Silent Epidemic." The hearing highlighted the significant public health threat posed by HCV and the immediate need to improve the nation's response to it.
Efforts to fight hepatitis C have been hindered by several significant factors. There is not a vaccine for HCV although a treatment is available if the virus is detected through early testing. The hepatitis C infection does not usually produce symptoms, meaning most people go undetected for many years, even decades, revealing itself only once serious liver damage has occurred and other health related illnesses are found.
Hepatitis is most efficiently transmitted by exposures that involve direct blood-to-blood contact. Risk groups include those who received a blood transfusion prior to 1992, blood-clotting agents prior to 1987, persons with any history of intravenous drug use (even once), people in health care and other employment settings with possible needle stick accidents and exposure to blood products. Children born to an HCV-infected mother are also at risk. About 10 percent of people with HCV infection have no recognized source of infection and roughly 15 percent of infection is attributed to sexual contact. It is estimated that approximately 2 percent of the nation is infected with the deadly virus.
Hepatitis C can be treated if found in the early stage of infection with current therapy options. The course of treatment lasts between six and twelve months, can have serious side effects, is expensive and is ineffective for many minorities. Current treatments are not an option for persons with certain physical illnesses or depression.
At this time, two bills have been filed in the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives. Senate Bill 1143, is cosponsored by Kay Bailey Hutchison, TX, and Edward Kennedy, MA; House Bill 3539, cosponsored by Heather Wilson, NM and Edolphus Towns of New York. Both would allocate funding for states to perform accurate surveillance, testing, counseling, referrals, vaccinate for hepatitis A and B, support research, and conduct education and prevention programs. These will be the first federal bills in response to the hepatitis C epidemic, if passed in 2005.
In 2003, a high school DECA club at Robinson Secondary School, Fairfax, Virginia contacted the National Hepatitis C Advocacy Council to lend their support. Concerned about family members living with HCV and the burden of this virus on their generation for years to come, they have conducted rallies at the U. S. Capitol, met with Congressional leaders and talked with their own member of Congress, Tom Davis, Chairman of the Committee on Government Reform last spring. Through their efforts, the Chairman called for the hearing to revisit the recommendations made in 1998 and to identify ways of addressing the epidemic currently and in the future. Erika Stein, a DECA student whose father is infected with HCV, will be testifying to the Committee on the day to day struggle her family faces with her father's illness.
Though this hearing, the Committee hopes to determine the success of current HCV prevention efforts within the federal government and identify areas for improvement. The Committee wants to learn the extent in which federal agencies share pertinent information between themselves and with state health departments and to determine what progress has been made in the quest for a vaccine and effective treatment options to address this nationwide epidemic.
CURRENT WITNESS LIST
Dr. Rima Khabbaz, M.D., Associate Director of Epidemiologic Science, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr. Lawrence Deyton, MSPH, M.D., Chief Consultant, Public Health Strategic Healthcare Group, Department of Veterans Affairs
Dr. Jay Hoofnagle, M.D., Liver Disease Research Branch, Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Michael Rudman, M.D., Founder, Frederick County Hepatitis Clinic, Inc.
Ann Jesse, Founding Executive Director, Hep C Connection, Denver, Member National Hepatitis C Advocacy Council
Erika Stein, Robinson Secondary School DECA student, father living with hepatitis C
Capt. John Niemiec, Health Programs Officer, Fire and Rescue Department, Fairfax County, Virginia, First Responder
CONTACT: National Hepatitis C Advocacy Council
Sharon Phillips, 903-235-0408
or
Lorren Sandt, 877-737-4372
SOURCE: National Hepatitis C Advocacy Council
041213
BW041208
Copyright © 2004 - Business Wire. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Business Wire, Permissions Desk, Business Wire, 1185 Avenue of the Americas, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10036; Tel: (212) 575-8822; FAX: (212) 575-1854. http://www.businesswire.com.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .