IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 505 

Recognizing July 28, 2019, as ‘‘World Hepatitis Day’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 18, 2019 

Ms. MENG (for herself and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing July 28, 2019, as ‘‘World Hepatitis Day’’. 

Whereas hepatitis B and hepatitis C, and the incidence of 

liver disease caused by these viruses, have become urgent 

problems of global proportion; 

Whereas an estimated 1,340,000 people worldwide die each 

year due to hepatitis; 

Whereas an estimated 257,000,000 people worldwide live 

with chronic hepatitis B, and an estimated 884,000 people worldwide die each year mostly due to a liver-related 

illness caused by hepatitis B; 

Whereas an estimated 71,000,000 people worldwide are 

chronically infected with hepatitis C, and an estimated 

399,000 people worldwide die each year due to a liverrelated illness caused by hepatitis C; 


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•HRES 505 IH 

Whereas in the United States, up to an estimated 5,700,000 

people are infected with either hepatitis B or hepatitis C, 

including up to an estimated 2,200,000 chronically infected with hepatitis B and up to an estimated 3,500,000 

chronically infected with hepatitis C; 

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC) estimated that there were 20,900 new acute hepatitis B infections and 41,200 new acute hepatitis C infections in the United States in 2016; 

Whereas the CDC has found significant increases in the 

transmission of new hepatitis cases in the United States 

since 2010, including a 3.5-fold increase between 2010 

and 2016 in reported cases of acute hepatitis C in the 

United States; 

Whereas chronic viral hepatitis claims thousands of lives each 

year in the United States, with an estimated 18,153 

deaths due to hepatitis C in the United States in 2016; 

Whereas between 2015 and 2020, United States taxpayers 

will spend an estimated $136,000,000,000 on hepatitis C 

drugs and approximately 45 percent of which will come 

from the Government; 

Whereas up to an estimated 80 percent of people with acute 

hepatitis C do not have any symptoms; 

Whereas African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Latinos, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, gay and 

bisexual men, and persons who inject drugs intravenously 

all have higher rates of chronic viral hepatitis infections 

in the United States than other groups of people; 

Whereas Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders bear the 

greatest burden of hepatitis B-related deaths in the 

United States; 


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•HRES 505 IH 

Whereas hepatitis C is 10 times more infectious than human 

immunodeficiency virus (HIV); 

Whereas hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than 

HIV; 

Whereas an estimated 33 percent of people who live in the 

United States and are infected with HIV are also infected with hepatitis B or C; 

Whereas life expectancies for persons infected with HIV have 

increased with antiretroviral treatment, and liver disease, 

much of which is related to hepatitis B and hepatitis C 

infections, has become the most common cause of death 

among this population that is not related to acquired immune deficiency syndrome; 

Whereas despite the fact that chronic viral hepatitis is the 

most common blood-borne infection in the United States, 

over half of people living with hepatitis B and hepatitis 

C are unaware of their infection; 

Whereas hepatitis B is preventable through vaccination, and 

both hepatitis B and hepatitis C are preventable with 

proper public health interventions, including programs 

that offer access to sterile injection equipment for people 

who inject drugs intravenously; and 

Whereas the goals of ‘‘World Hepatitis Day’’ on July 28, 

2019, are to— 

(1) highlight the global nature of chronic viral hepatitis epidemics; 

(2) recognize that hepatitis can be prevented and 

eliminated in part through a comprehensive public education and awareness campaign designed to identify those 

at risk for, and living with, hepatitis; 


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•HRES 505 IH 

(3) inform patients about new treatments that are 

available for hepatitis; and 

(4) help increase the length and quality of life for 

people diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis 

C infections: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports broad access to hepatitis B and 

3 hepatitis C treatments; 

4 (2) supports raising awareness of the risks and 

5 consequences of undiagnosed chronic hepatitis B and 

6 hepatitis C infections; 

7 (3) calls for a robust governmental and public 

8 health response to protect the health of the approxi9 mately 5,700,000 people in the United States who 

10 are infected with hepatitis B or C; and 

11 (4) urges the Centers for Disease Control and 

12 Prevention to partner with State and local health de13 partments to develop strategies to increase the rate 

14 of hepatitis B adult vaccination and hepatitis C 

15 treatment to the levels necessary to eliminate new 

16 infections in the United States. 

Æ 


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