Deserves Attention?

Hepatitis C deserves the attention
MICHAEL NINBURG
GUEST COLUMNIST

"We stand at the precipice of a grave threat to our public health ... it affects people from all walks of life, in every state, in every country. And unless we do something about it soon, it will kill more people than AIDS." Those words were spoken more than seven years ago by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and many people will be surprised to learn he was speaking about hepatitis C.

Here in Washington we are finally beginning to heed Koop's advice. Last week, coinciding with the end of Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month, the Washington State Department of Health convened its second statewide hepatitis C conference. Public health workers, advocates and medical professionals from around the state met in Seattle to discuss ways to better address this looming public health threat.

Hepatitis C is transmitted by blood-to-blood contact and is the most common blood-borne infection in the U.S. About 5 million Americans have been infected with the hepatitis C virus, or almost 2 percent of the population. Most of those with hepatitis C are unaware of their infection because they often remain asymptomatic for decades. And most of those people will also live normal, relatively healthy lives and die from causes unrelated to their hepatitis C. Unfortunately, about 20 percent to 30 percent eventually will develop cirrhosis of the liver and some of those will die from end-stage liver disease.

The good news is that much of the disease burden from hepatitis C is preventable. Early diagnosis allows people to take action that can slow disease progression. Avoiding alcohol and getting vaccinated against hepatitis A and B are two relatively simple actions that can improve medical outcomes.

Better news, though, is that for many people, hepatitis C is curable. In about half the people who undergo treatment for hepatitis C, the virus becomes undetectable. And the most recent research shows that for those who are treated successfully, the virus stays undetectable.

For people to be treated for hepatitis C, however, they have to be diagnosed. National prevalence data suggest that about 110,000 Washingtonians are living with hepatitis C. Of those, about 70,000 are unaware of their infection. Those people can transmit the virus to others unwittingly and unknowingly do things to exacerbate their own liver damage.

Our challenge is twofold: We must get those undiagnosed individuals tested and we must make sure that everyone with hepatitis C has access to proper medical care.

We are encouraged by recent developments in this state and in our nation's capital. This past session, the Washington Legislature appropriated $400,000 to the state Department of Health to begin implementation of our state Hepatitis C Strategic Plan, which includes testing, education and prevention efforts.

And two weeks ago, U.S. Sens. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, re-introduced the Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act, a bill that mirrors much of what our state plan would do, but on a national level. A bipartisan companion bill was reintroduced in the House of Representatives.

Those developments and the heightened awareness among public health professionals and the general public give us hope that we are on the right path to finally giving hepatitis C the attention it deserves.

Michael Ninburg is executive director of the Hepatitis Education Project based in Seattle.

[honey11]

Thanks for posting!  The numbers don't surprise me,,,,I'm sure there is so many people that have no earthly idea they have it, and of course you always think it will happen to someone else.  Sadly,,most people don't find out until later in life,,,,40's,,50's when they can't pinpoint it,,,but something is not quite right with the way we are feeling.  Awareness is the answer!!

[AngelsOnMySide2]

Tell me if I'm wrong?????
Could they spare the $$$$$.....what could they possible do with $400,000 ???

the Washington Legislature appropriated $400,000 to the state Department of Health to begin implementation of our state Hepatitis C Strategic Plan, which includes testing, education and prevention efforts.

Donna

[GrandOak]

To build momentum by laying the foundation and then utilizing it to garner more funding for expansion.  I've found that often times the legislation funds a program for the kudos of doing so but do not look long term to how it will continue after the initial funding is gone.

I think sometimes one has to start small and build upon it.  It seems that those programs build over time have longevity that those start with a massive infusion of funds that quickly dry up with no vision for getting additional funding become flash in the pans programs that do little and often waste the money on buracracy with little reaching the actual need.  While those built slowly over time tend to run more efficiently and see most of the funds reaching the need.