Title: A resolution recognizing July 28, 2018, as "World Hepatitis Day".
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Recognizes World Hepatitis Day.
Expresses support for broad access to hepatitis treatments and for raising awareness of the risks and consequences of undiagnosed hepatitis infections.
Calls for a robust governmental and public health response to protect the health of people in the United States and worldwide who have hepatitis.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 600 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 600

         Recognizing July 28, 2018, as ``World Hepatitis Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2018

    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, 2018, as ``World Hepatitis Day''.

Whereas hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and the incidence of liver disease caused by 
        such viruses have become urgent problems of a global proportion;
Whereas, worldwide, an estimated--

    (1) 1,340,000 people die each year due to hepatitis;

    (2) 257,000,000 people live with chronic hepatitis B;

    (3) 887,000 people die each year mostly due to a liver-related illness 
caused by hepatitis B;

    (4) 71,000,000 people are chronically infected with hepatitis C; and

    (5) 399,000 people die each year due to a liver-related illness caused 
by hepatitis C;

Whereas, in the United States, an estimated--

    (1) 5,700,000 people are infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C;

    (2) 2,200,000 people are chronically infected with hepatitis B; and

    (3) 3,500,000 people are chronically infected with hepatitis C;

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to in this 
        preamble as the ``CDC'') estimates that, in 2016, there were 20,900 new 
        acute hepatitis B infections and 41,200 new acute hepatitis C infections 
        in the United States;
Whereas the CDC has found significant increases in the amount 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 infections;
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 
        2016;
Whereas, between 2015 and 2020, there is estimated to be $136,000,000,000 in 
        hepatitis C drug spending from all payers, and government payers would 
        fund $61,000,000,000, an estimated 45 percent of such spending;
Whereas 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 people who inject 
        drugs intravenously 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;
Whereas hepatitis C is 10 times more infectious than human immunodeficiency 
        virus (referred to in this preamble as ``HIV'');
Whereas hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV;
Whereas an estimated 25 percent of people who live in the United States and are 
        infected with HIV are also infected with hepatitis C;
Whereas, while life expectancies for individuals infected with HIV have 
        increased with antiretroviral treatment, liver disease, which is 
        commonly related to hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections, has become 
        the most common cause of death among HIV-infected individuals 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, more than half of the people 
        living with hepatitis B and hepatitis C are unaware of their infections;
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, 2018, 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;

    (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 Senate--
            (1) recognizes World Hepatitis Day;
            (2) supports broad access to hepatitis B and hepatitis C 
        treatments;
            (3) supports raising awareness of the risks and 
        consequences of undiagnosed chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C 
        infections; and
            (4) calls for a robust governmental and public health 
        response to protect the health of the approximately 5,700,000 
        people in the United States and 328,000,000 people worldwide 
        who have hepatitis.
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