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 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. On World Hepatitis Day, Melinda Gates stated that prevention, to a great extent, is in our hands. Because hepatitis is still the "silent killer," it is imperartive that we educate, inform, and support!
In discussing hepatitis and its effects with the people in India, the Gates Foundation came to the conclusion that the Indian Government needed to do much more work and allocate a larger budget for healthcare and education in 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 that is shared with an infected person.
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.
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 for people with HIV in the year 2000 was liver disease due to viral 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, estimates the expenditure $10.7 billion in direct, hepatitis-related medical expenditures for the years 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