III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 236 

Recognizing July 28, 2017, as ‘‘World Hepatitis Day 2017’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2017 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing July 28, 2017, as ‘‘World Hepatitis Day 2017’’. 

Whereas Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and the incidence of liver 

disease caused by those viruses, have become urgent 

problems of a global proportion; 

Whereas the World Health Organization has identified viral 

hepatitis as an international public health challenge comparable to human immunodeficiency virus (in this preamble referred to as ‘‘HIV’’), tuberculosis, and malaria; 

Whereas, in 2016, the World Health Organization released a 

global health sector strategy on viral hepatitis that aims 

to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 

2030; 

Whereas an estimated 240,000,000 individuals worldwide are 

chronically infected with Hepatitis B and an estimated 


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686,000 individuals worldwide die each year due to Hepatitis B; 

Whereas an estimated 150,000,000 individuals worldwide are 

chronically infected with Hepatitis C and an estimated 

700,000 individuals worldwide die each year due to Hepatitis C-related liver disease; 

Whereas an estimated 1,000,000 individuals worldwide die 

each year due to liver failure or primary liver cancer resulting from a chronic infection of hepatitis; 

Whereas an estimated 5,300,000 individuals in the United 

States are infected with either Hepatitis B or Hepatitis 

C, including 1,400,000 individuals who are chronically infected with Hepatitis B and 2,700,000 individuals who 

are chronically infected with Hepatitis C; 

Whereas, in 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that there were 19,200 new Hepatitis 

B infections and 30,500 new Hepatitis C infections, respectively, in the United States; 

Whereas, since 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention has found significant increases in the transmission of new hepatitis cases in the United States, including a 151-percent increase in new transmissions of 

Hepatitis C in the United States between 2010 and 

2013; 

Whereas chronic viral hepatitis claims thousands of lives in 

the United States each year, and in 2014 alone, there 

were 19,659 deaths due to Hepatitis C in the United 

States; 

Whereas an individual who has become chronically infected 

with Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C may not have symptoms 

for up to 40 years after being infected; 


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Whereas some groups of individuals in the United States 

have a higher rate of chronic viral hepatitis infection 

than other groups of individuals in the United States, including African-Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Latinos, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, gay 

and bisexual men, and individuals who inject drugs intravenously; 

Whereas Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have the 

highest rate of Hepatitis B-related deaths in the United 

States; 

Whereas Hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than 

HIV; 

Whereas Hepatitis C is 10 times more infectious than HIV; 

Whereas an estimated 25 percent of individuals in the United 

States who are infected with HIV are also infected with 

Hepatitis C; 

Whereas life expectancies for individuals infected with HIV 

have increased with antiretroviral treatment, and liver 

disease (largely attributed to Hepatitis B and Hepatitis 

C infections) has become the most common cause of 

death among this population, aside from acquired immune deficiency syndrome; 

Whereas, despite the fact that chronic viral hepatitis is the 

most common blood-borne infection in the United States, 

an estimated 65 percent of individuals with Hepatitis B 

and an estimated 75 percent of individuals with Hepatitis 

C are unaware of the infection; 

Whereas Hepatitis B is preventable through vaccination, and 

both Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are preventable with 

proper public health interventions, including programs 


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that offer access to sterile injection equipment for individuals who inject drugs intravenously; 

Whereas effective and safe treatment is available for individuals with Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, including new curative treatments for Hepatitis C; and 

Whereas ‘‘World Hepatitis Day 2017’’ will promote the elimination of viral hepatitis through greater awareness, increased diagnosis, and key interventions: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes July 28, 2017, as ‘‘World Hepa3 titis Day 2017’’; 

4 (2) supports broad access to Hepatitis B and 

5 Hepatitis C treatments; 

6 (3) supports raising awareness of the risks and 

7 consequences of undiagnosed chronic Hepatitis B 

8 and Hepatitis C infections; and 

9 (4) calls for a robust governmental and public 

10 health response to protect the health of the approxi11 mately 5,300,000 individuals in the United States, 

12 and 390,000,000 individuals worldwide, who suffer 

13 from chronic viral hepatitis. 

Æ 


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