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Hepatitis C deaths up, baby boomers most at risk
As I said before, this is the year we will begin hearing much, much more about Hep C. Check out this article:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Deaths from liver-destroying hepatitis C are on the rise, and new data shows baby boomers especially should take heed - they are most at risk.
Federal health officials are considering whether anyone born between 1945 and 1965 should get a one-time blood test to check if their livers harbor this ticking time bomb. The reason: Two-thirds of people with hepatitis C are in this age group, most unaware that a virus that takes a few decades to do its damage has festered since their younger days.
The issue has taken new urgency since two drugs hit the market last summer that promise to cure many more people than ever was possible. And research published Monday says testing millions of the middle-aged to find those who need the pricey treatment would be worth the cost, saving thousands of lives.
"One of every 33 baby boomers are living with hepatitis C infection," says Dr. John Ward, hepatitis chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Most people will be surprised, because it's a silent epidemic."
Don't think you need to worry? Yes, sharing a needle while injecting illegal drugs is the biggest risk factor for becoming infected with this blood-borne virus. But before 1992, when widespread testing of the blood supply began, hepatitis C commonly was spread through blood transfusions. Plus, a one-time experiment with drugs way back in high school or college could have been enough.
"Asking someone about a risk that happened 20 to 30 years ago is a lot to ask," says Ward. Hence the quest for a new strategy.
About 3.2 million Americans are estimated to have chronic hepatitis C, but at least half of them may not know it. The virus, which affects 170 million people worldwide, can gradually scar the liver and lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. It is a leading cause of liver transplants.
A CDC study published Monday analyzed a decade of death records and found an increase in death rates from hepatitis C. In fact, in 2007 there were 15,000 deaths related to hepatitis C, higher than previous estimates - and surpassing the nearly 13,000 deaths caused by the better-known AIDS virus.
Perhaps more surprising, three-fourths of the hepatitis deaths occurred in the middle-aged, people 45 to 64, researchers reported in Annals of Internal Medicine.
"Mortality will continue to grow for the next 10 to 15 years at least unless we do something different" to find and treat the silent sufferers, Ward says.
CDC's current guidelines recommend testing people known to be at high risk, and until last summer there wasn't much enthusiasm even for that step: the reasons are the year-long, two-drug treatment promised to cure only 40 percent of people; treatment was so grueling that many patients refused to try it and treatment could cost up to $30,000.
Two new drugs - Vertex Pharmaceuticals' telaprevir and Merck & Co.'s boceprevir - are starting to change that pessimism. Research suggests adding one of them to standard therapy can boost cure rates as high as 75 percent. While still full of side effects, they can allow some people to finish treatment in just six months. They add to the price, however, another $1,000 to $4,000 a week. Drugs that promise to work even better have begun testing.
Those advances are fueling CDC deliberations of whether to change testing guidelines to recommend that anyone born between 1945 and 1965 get a one-time screening. A second CDC-funded study published Monday analyzed models of that option, and concluded it had the potential to save 82,000 lives.
A third study published Monday from Stanford University looked more closely at the price tag, and concluded the new triple-therapy would be cost-effective for people with advanced disease. It's still cheaper than a transplant costing well over $100,000. But not everyone with hepatitis C will go on to suffer serious liver damage. For those with mild disease, that analysis concluded some gene testing to predict who might really need the costlier triple therapy rather than the older drugs would be a good next step.
It's not clear how quickly the CDC will settle the boomer-screening question. But doctors at New York's Montefiore Medical Center have started raising the issue with boomers. And Montefiore internist Dr. Gary Rogg says a number of patients have sought testing after seeing hepatitis-awareness ads from the drugs' manufacturers.
"Now it's considered a curable disease, that makes all the difference," says Rogg, who was surprised at some longtime patients' test results. Even a nurse he knows learned she had it, and the only risk she could recall was a blood transfusion during surgery when she was 10 years old.
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=197143
WASHINGTON (AP) - Deaths from liver-destroying hepatitis C are on the rise, and new data shows baby boomers especially should take heed - they are most at risk.
Federal health officials are considering whether anyone born between 1945 and 1965 should get a one-time blood test to check if their livers harbor this ticking time bomb. The reason: Two-thirds of people with hepatitis C are in this age group, most unaware that a virus that takes a few decades to do its damage has festered since their younger days.
The issue has taken new urgency since two drugs hit the market last summer that promise to cure many more people than ever was possible. And research published Monday says testing millions of the middle-aged to find those who need the pricey treatment would be worth the cost, saving thousands of lives.
"One of every 33 baby boomers are living with hepatitis C infection," says Dr. John Ward, hepatitis chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Most people will be surprised, because it's a silent epidemic."
Don't think you need to worry? Yes, sharing a needle while injecting illegal drugs is the biggest risk factor for becoming infected with this blood-borne virus. But before 1992, when widespread testing of the blood supply began, hepatitis C commonly was spread through blood transfusions. Plus, a one-time experiment with drugs way back in high school or college could have been enough.
"Asking someone about a risk that happened 20 to 30 years ago is a lot to ask," says Ward. Hence the quest for a new strategy.
About 3.2 million Americans are estimated to have chronic hepatitis C, but at least half of them may not know it. The virus, which affects 170 million people worldwide, can gradually scar the liver and lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. It is a leading cause of liver transplants.
A CDC study published Monday analyzed a decade of death records and found an increase in death rates from hepatitis C. In fact, in 2007 there were 15,000 deaths related to hepatitis C, higher than previous estimates - and surpassing the nearly 13,000 deaths caused by the better-known AIDS virus.
Perhaps more surprising, three-fourths of the hepatitis deaths occurred in the middle-aged, people 45 to 64, researchers reported in Annals of Internal Medicine.
"Mortality will continue to grow for the next 10 to 15 years at least unless we do something different" to find and treat the silent sufferers, Ward says.
CDC's current guidelines recommend testing people known to be at high risk, and until last summer there wasn't much enthusiasm even for that step: the reasons are the year-long, two-drug treatment promised to cure only 40 percent of people; treatment was so grueling that many patients refused to try it and treatment could cost up to $30,000.
Two new drugs - Vertex Pharmaceuticals' telaprevir and Merck & Co.'s boceprevir - are starting to change that pessimism. Research suggests adding one of them to standard therapy can boost cure rates as high as 75 percent. While still full of side effects, they can allow some people to finish treatment in just six months. They add to the price, however, another $1,000 to $4,000 a week. Drugs that promise to work even better have begun testing.
Those advances are fueling CDC deliberations of whether to change testing guidelines to recommend that anyone born between 1945 and 1965 get a one-time screening. A second CDC-funded study published Monday analyzed models of that option, and concluded it had the potential to save 82,000 lives.
A third study published Monday from Stanford University looked more closely at the price tag, and concluded the new triple-therapy would be cost-effective for people with advanced disease. It's still cheaper than a transplant costing well over $100,000. But not everyone with hepatitis C will go on to suffer serious liver damage. For those with mild disease, that analysis concluded some gene testing to predict who might really need the costlier triple therapy rather than the older drugs would be a good next step.
It's not clear how quickly the CDC will settle the boomer-screening question. But doctors at New York's Montefiore Medical Center have started raising the issue with boomers. And Montefiore internist Dr. Gary Rogg says a number of patients have sought testing after seeing hepatitis-awareness ads from the drugs' manufacturers.
"Now it's considered a curable disease, that makes all the difference," says Rogg, who was surprised at some longtime patients' test results. Even a nurse he knows learned she had it, and the only risk she could recall was a blood transfusion during surgery when she was 10 years old.
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=197143
"Doctor's telling anyone that a test is 'probably a false positive' without reason is outrageous, sad and dangerous."
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It is also negligence. If a doctor gets a positive test and he/she does not follow-up to determine if the patient has the disease, it is negligence.
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It is also negligence. If a doctor gets a positive test and he/she does not follow-up to determine if the patient has the disease, it is negligence.
It was also on NBC nightly news. My PCP got a memo asking all family physicias asking them to screen for it, that's how I was diagnosed and I think like 6 of us that had HCV. That was back in 1999. Keep it in the news people need to be tested. My husband has been tested twice and clear and both my kids were tested and clear.
This is interesting and I completely agree with each perspective that has been mentioned. It is not only the stereotypes and misconceptions that surround HCV, it is that menacing dormancy that lead so many people (most from our era) to not even consider that they could have somehow been exposed in the last couple of decades or so (or more recently) but that's not the segment of the population I am talking about.
I appreciate the new efforts at trying to increase awareness, but feel they undo so much of the good when they still announce that the most common way to get it is through shared IV drug use. That right there, the continued stigmatization, is enough to keep people from getting tested. I believe the authorities need to focus on all of the OTHER ways it can be contracted. My nurse even said that you could get it from snorting and sharing a straw or rolled bill....how many people have done that in the past and don't even consider that drug use per se? Tons. And I bet they think they would be immune.
We still have a long way to go with education. And I feel for the woman on the news piece, but couldn't they also have shown someone who didnt look like they were already on deaths door? A businessman....a nurse...a doctor...lawyer...teacher....student??? The UK seemed to have a pretty good awareness program. Why can't the same be done over here?
We still have a long way to go with education. And I feel for the woman on the news piece, but couldn't they also have shown someone who didnt look like they were already on deaths door? A businessman....a nurse...a doctor...lawyer...teacher....student??? The UK seemed to have a pretty good awareness program. Why can't the same be done over here?
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