The global epidemic of hepatitis B and C is a serious public health problem. Hepatitis B and C are the major causes of chronic liver disease and liver cancer in the world. In the next 10 years, 150,000 people in the United States will die from liver disease or liver cancer associated with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Today, between 800,000 and 1.4 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis B and between 2.7 and 3.9 million have chronic hepatitis C. People most at risk for hepatitis B and C often are the least likely to have access to medical services. Reducing the rates of illness and death associated with these diseases will require greater awareness and knowledge among health care workers, improved identification of at-risk people, and improved access to medical care.

Hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable disease. Although federal public health officials recommend that all newborns, children, and at-risk adults receive the vaccine, about 46,000 new acute cases of the HBV infection emerge each year, including 1,000 in infants who acquire the infection during birth from their HBV-positive mothers. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C, which is transmitted by direct exposure to infectious blood.

Hepatitis and Liver Cancer identifies missed opportunities related to the prevention and control of HBV and HCV infections. The book presents ways to reduce the numbers of new HBV and HCV infections and the morbidity and mortality related to chronic viral hepatitis. It identifies priorities for research, policy, and action geared toward federal, state, and local public health officials, stakeholder, and advocacy groups and professional organizations.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE ON THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS INFECTIONS
• Reviewers
• Acknowledgments
• Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Summary
• 1. Introduction
  • PREVALENCE AND INCIDENCE OF HEPATITIS B AND HEPATITIS C WORLDWIDE
  • PREVALENCE AND INCIDENCE OF HEPATITIS B AND HEPATITIS C IN THE UNITED STATES
  • LIVER CANCER AND LIVER DISEASE FROM CHRONIC HEPATITIS B VIRUS AND HEPATITIS C VIRUS INFECTIONS
  • THE COMMITTEE’S TASK
  • THE COMMITTEE’S APPROACH TO ITS TASK
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Surveillance
  • APPLICATIONS OF SURVEILLANCE DATA
  • DISEASE-SPECIFIC ISSUES RELATED TO VIRAL-HEPATITIS SURVEILLANCE
  • INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROCESS-SPECIFIC ISSUES WITH SURVEILLANCE
  • MODEL FOR SURVEILLANCE
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Knowledge and Awareness About Chronic Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
  • KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS AMONG HEALTH-CARE AND SOCIAL-SERVICE PROVIDERS
  • COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Immunization
  • HEPATITIS B VACCINE
  • HEPATITIS C VACCINE
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Viral Hepatitis Services
  • CURRENT STATUS
  • COMPONENTS OF VIRAL HEPATITIS SERVICES
  • MAJOR GAPS IN SERVICES
  • REFERENCES
• A Committee Biographies
• B Public Meeting Agendas

This study was supported by Contract 200-2005-13434, TO#16, between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Health and Human Services (with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office of Minority Health, and the Department of Veterans Affairs) and by the Task Force for Child Survival and Development on behalf of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2010. Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: A National Strategy for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis B and C. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.