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Health Topics A-Z
HEPATITIS
1. Incidence/ Prevalence of Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a silent epidemic affecting over 4 million Americans living with the disaease (referece: Ameircan Liver Foundation) - however, 75% of these do not know they have the Hepatiis C virus.. Alarmingly, baby boomers account for two-thirds of all chronic hepatitis C cases. The Florida Department of Health, in the Hepaptis Surveillance Report published in Jnauary 0f 2009 (as por to fthe Florida Department Of Health. Hepatitis Prevention Program) estimates that there are 300,000 people in florida with Hepatitis C.
In Miami-Dade County alone there are 25,795 cases.
Hepatitis C affects the liver and may cause scarring and swelling. It is a serious disease that can lead to liver cancer and it is the leading cause of liver transplants in the U.S. The currently available medicines for hepatitis C only cure about 40-45% of patients and involve a year of often-debilitating treatments.
2. Recent Actions by the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
Just over two weeks ago, the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human services issued the first-even action plan to combat Hep C - a major hidden epidemic in this country and a rising public health crisis. They estimate that over the next 10 years, about 150,000 people in the U.S. will die from liver cancer and liver disease due to viral hepatitis infections – and the cost for untreated liver disease is expected to more than triple by 2024 to $85B annually. The Action Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis is a first-ever initiative to respond to the hepatitis crisis - it includes education, enhanced screening, reducing transmissions and worker protection.
You can view the plan at: http://www.hhs.gov/ash/initiatives/hepatitis/actionplan_viralhepatitis2011.pdf
It calls for: (1) educating Providers and Communities to Reduce Health Disparities; (2) improving Testing, Care, and Treatment to Prevent Liver Disease and Cancer; (3) strengthening Surveillance to Detect Viral Hepatitis Transmission and Disease; (4) eliminating Transmission of Vaccine-Preventable Viral Hepatitis; (5) reducing Viral Hepatitis Caused by Drug-Use Behaviors; and (6) protecting Patients and Workers from Health-Care Associated Viral Hepatitis.
3. New Treatements: First time in over a Decade
For the first time in over a decade, there are TWO new medications available for the approved two new drugs for the treatment of Hepatitis C. You can view full approval information on these drugs at the FDA site: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm256299.htm
The currently available medicines for hepatitis C only cure about 40-45% of patients and involve a year of often-debilitating treatments. The new medicines, such as INCIVEK (telaprevir), have been shown in clinical trials to double the cure rate and reduce treatment time by half for most patients. Phase 3 clinical data for one of the drugs, INCIVEK (telaprevir) showed that 79% of (four out of five) people new to treatment achieved a viral cure when they received INCIVEK for 12 weeks in combination with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin. It’s expected that more than 60% of people who are new to treatment or who relapsed after a prior course of treatment will complete all treatment in 24 weeks, half the time required with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin alone. INCIVEK was approved for a broad group of people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C, the most common form of the virus. The approval is for people new to treatments as well as those who were not cured despite a previous course of treatment with available medicines (prior relapsers, partial responders and null responders) – please see attached press release for more information.
