•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 in-
fected 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 hepa-
titis B infections and 41,200 new acute hepatitis C infec-
tions 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 Island-
ers, 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 in-
fected 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 im-
mune 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 hepa-
titis epidemics; 
(2) recognize that hepatitis can be prevented and 
eliminated in part through a comprehensive public edu-
cation 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports broad access to hepatitis B and 
hepatitis C treatments; 
(2) supports raising awareness of the risks and 
consequences of undiagnosed chronic hepatitis B and 
hepatitis C infections; 
(3) calls for a robust governmental and public 
health response to protect the health of the approxi-
mately 5,700,000 people in the United States who 
are infected with hepatitis B or C; and 
(4) urges the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention to partner with State and local health de-
partments to develop strategies to increase the rate 
of hepatitis B adult vaccination and hepatitis C 
treatment to the levels necessary to eliminate new 
infections in the United States. 
Æ 
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