What All Americans Should Know

Unfortunately, most of us know very little about the importance of the liver and how to take better care of it. Why? Because the liver has been the “missing link” in all our education programs for many years and many of us are inadvertently doing things in our daily lives that could cause liver damage. Things such as breathing in everyday household chemicals, mixing over the counter drugs with other prescribed drugs or alcohol, taking larger doses of over the counter drugs than are recommended, sharing razors, nail clippers, toothbrushes with others, having tattoos or body piercing, and having unprotected sex are invisible threats to the liver. Viral hepatitis is preventable through proper hygiene, healthy lifestyle behaviors, and immunizations. The current high incidence of hepatitis C is called an Epidemic of Discovery when truly it is an Epidemic of Ignorance. Knowledge is the key to prevention. Techniques of using that knowledge to affect change are a basic need.

• We need to work together to fill the void in information that can help all of us, and especially our children, stay healthy and avoid liver damaging activities.
• Viral hepatitis is one of the most common infectious diseases, causing an estimated 1.5 million deaths worldwide each year.
• Each year 200,000 people in the United States will become infected with hepatitis.
• Hepatitis is four times more prevalent than HIV
• Hepatitis infects 1-3% of the general American population, with the African American community hit disproportionately with an infection rate of up to 5%.
• In 2001, hepatitis A was second only to chickenpox as the most frequently reported vaccine-preventable disease.
• Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than the AIDS virus.
• 1 out of 20 people have been infected with hepatitis B.
• There are more than 1.2 million chronic carriers of hepatitis B in the US, and one-third of these carriers do not know they are infected.
• 5,000 people die every year from hepatitis B and its complications.
• There are an estimated 3.9 million (1.8%) Americans infected with hepatitis C of whom 2.7 million have chronic hepatitis C. That’s 1 out of every 50 Americans, 75% of which have no idea they are infected and capable of transmitting the disease to others.
• In America, Hepatitis C is the leading cause of death for those infected with HIV.
• Nationwide, there are 25,000 cases of hepatitis C each year. Two-thirds of these cases are from the ages of 30 to 49.
• In the United States, the estimated annual cost for hepatitis C is $600 million.
  Hepatitis C accounts for 8-10,000 deaths annually.
• 33% of all HIV patients are co-infected with HCV
• Common modes of transmission of viral hepatitis include injection drug use, unprotected sex, and tattooing and body-piercing with contaminated instruments.
• The liver is a non-complaining organ. Symptoms may not manifest themselves for years until the liver is badly damaged.
• Prevent viral hepatitis through Informed Healthful Lifestyle Choices.