Eliminating the Public Health Problem of Hepatitis B and C in the United States : Phase One Report

Hepatitis B And C Cause Most Cases Of Hepatitis In The United States And The World. The Two Diseases Account For About A Million Deaths A Year And 78 Percent Of World's Hepatocellular Carcinoma And More Than Half Of All Fatal Cirrhosis. In 2013 Viral Hepatitis, Of Which Hepatitis B Virus (hbv) And Hepatitis C Virus (hcv) Are The Most Common Types, Surpassed Hiv And Aids To Become The Seventh Leading Cause Of Death Worldwide. The World Now Has The Tools To Prevent Hepatitis B And Cure Hepatitis C. Perfect Vaccination Could Eradicate Hbv, But It Would Take Two Generations At Least. In The Meantime, There Is No Cure For The Millions Of People Already Infected. Conversely, There Is No Vaccine For Hcv, But New Direct-acting Antivirals Can Cure 95 Percent Of Chronic Infections, Though These Drugs Are Unlikely To Reach All Chronically-infected People Anytime Soon. This Report, The First Of Two, Examines The Feasibility Of Hepatitis B And C Elimination In The United States And Identifies Critical Success Factors. The Phase Two Report Will Outline A Strategy For Meeting The Elimination Goals Discussed In This Report. Gillian J. Buckley And Brian L. Strom, Editors ; Committee On A National Strategy For The Elimination Of Hepatitis B And C, Board On Population Health And Public Health Practice, Health And Medicine Division, National Academies Of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine. Includes Bibliographical References. Issued Also In Printing. This Activity Was Supported By Contract No. 10002774 With The Us Department Of Health And Human Services [centers For Disease Control And Prevention]. Any Opinions, Findings, Conclusions, Or Recommendations Expressed In This Publication Do Not Necessarily Reflect The Views Of Any Organization Or Agency That Provided Support For The Project. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web.

Hepatitis B and C cause most cases of hepatitis in the United States and the world. The two diseases account for about a million deaths a year and 78 percent of world's hepatocellular carcinoma and more than half of all fatal cirrhosis. In 2013 viral hepatitis, of which hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the most common types, surpassed HIV and AIDS to become the seventh leading cause of death worldwide.

The world now has the tools to prevent hepatitis B and cure hepatitis C. Perfect vaccination could eradicate HBV, but it would take two generations at least. In the meantime, there is no cure for the millions of people already infected. Conversely, there is no vaccine for HCV, but new direct-acting antivirals can cure 95 percent of chronic infections, though these drugs are unlikely to reach all chronically-infected people anytime soon. This report, the first of two, examines the feasibility of hepatitis B and C elimination in the United States and identifies critical success factors. The phase two report will outline a strategy for meeting the elimination goals discussed in this report.