Educate and inform the public about prevention for the three forms of hepatitis
Educate and inform those with the virus about treatment options
Reach people through support systems that show them that we need to work together
Hepatitis Ready Care has plans to educate the public about the causes of and the prevention of the disease. The answer to the entire hepatitis pandemic is prevention! Hepatitis C is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease. It affects more than four million people in the United States alone. Melinda Gates on World Hepatitis Day stated that prevention to a great extent is in our hands. Because it is still the "silent killer" we need to educate, inform, and support!
In discussing hepatitis and its effects with the people in India they had come to the conclusion that the Indian Government needed to do much more work and allocate a larger budget for healthcare and education of rural India. I firmly believe that many people in the poorer counties in the south fall into these exact criteria. In the most prosperous country with the best health care in the world there is an entire culture of people who fall through the cracks! These people are uneducated and unable to get the medical support that they need. Maybe the truly scary part is that the average person does not realize that you can get hepatitis from something as simple as a razor or a toothbrush.
Information cited from Gates Foundation Newsletter 2006
Many consider the incidence rate to be grossly underestimated. Current estimates for the United States do not include infected prisoners, homeless people, IV drug abusers, and probably many others who do not participate in the established healthcare system. We may never know the true prevalence rate.
An estim. This figure is expected to triple in the next 10-20 years. Chronic hepatitis C infection is the most common indication for liver transplantation in the United States. There are now more than 20,000 people in the US waiting for a liver transplant, but there are currently only about 4,900 livers available each year. It is estimated that up to 30% of all HIV-positive people are also chronically infected with hepatitis. Recent studies indicate that the most common cause of death people with HIV in the year 2000 was viral hepatitis due to liver disease caused by the hepatitis.
The impact of hepatitis on the US society is staggering. A study conducted by J. Wong et al from Tufts University School of Medicine and recently published in the American Journal of Public Health estimate $10.7 billion in direct hepatitis related medical expenditures from the year 2010 through 2019. During this period, hepatitis C may lead to the loss of 1.83 million years of life in those younger than 65 at a societal cost estimated at as much as $54.2 billion.
Information cited from The National Hepatitis C Advocacy Board 2006