Priority and strategy – these are the key aspects of hepatitis elimination that were put forward by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (The National Academies) in their recent report, “A National Strategy for the Elimination of Hepatitis B and C: Phase Two Report.”
“Viral hepatitis is simply not a sufficient priority in the United States,” said Brian Strom of Rutgers University, who heads the committee that conducted the study behind this consensus report. “Despite being the seventh leading cause of death in the world — and killing more people every year than HIV, road traffic accidents, or diabetes — viral hepatitis accounts for less than 1 percent of the National Institutes of Health research budget.”
Combined, chronic hepatitis B and C affect about 4 million people in the U.S., alone. Viral hepatitis increases the risk of developing liver cancer, which has become more prevalent. From 2003 to 2012, liver cancer cases in the U.S. have increased by 38 percent, while deaths caused by this condition rose by 56 percent. Developing a more strategic approach to prevent, diagnose, and treat hepatitis is indeed fundamental to address liver cancer.
The very reason that the Al D. Rodriguez Liver Foundation was established in his name, in 2008, was in direct response to Al’s untimely death, during this noted nine-year time period, when liver cancer cases — and fatalities associated with viral hepatitis — were markedly on the rise.
The report underscores hepatitis as a public health concern and highlights the barriers to its elimination. It also points to important tools such as diagnosis — even more helpful when it’s early — which could cut the number of hepatitis B-related deaths by 2030. Screening at-risk populations for hepatitis B could also reduce liver cancer cases from this virus strain by 45 percent.
Keeping hepatitis elimination as a top public health priority requires aggressive efforts, the report suggests. For example, the report committee noted that a coordinated federal effort would be needed to effectively manage injection practices and expand syringe exchange programs for people who inject drugs.
Prevention through immunization is also part of the outlined strategy. The committee called for the National Council on Quality Assurance to monitor the delivery of hepatitis B vaccines to newborns, particularly those born to women with chronic hepatitis B.
Regarding hepatitis C, which has no known vaccine, the report suggests new payment models that will help hepatitis C patients — especially those who are underserved with little to no access to health insurance — pay for expensive medication.
“By implementing The National Academies’ recommendations, we can erase the stigma that keeps our nation from achieving elimination and specifically address the needs of those most heavily impacted by hepatitis B and C, including people who use drugs, the incarcerated, and people using Medicaid and other public health programs,” said Ryan Clary, executive director of National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR).
To learn more about the report, click here
To know more about The National Academies, visit their website
For more on hepatitis testing guidelines, click here
