Title: A resolution recognizing July 28, 2017, as "World Hepatitis Day 2017".
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Recognizes July 28, 2017, as World Hepatitis Day 2017.
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 the 5 million people in the United States and 400 million people worldwide who suffer from chronic viral hepatitis.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 236 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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 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;
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 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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes July 28, 2017, as ``World Hepatitis Day 
        2017'';
            (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 5,300,000 
        individuals in the United States, and 390,000,000 individuals 
        worldwide, who suffer from chronic viral hepatitis.
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