This page is an archive. Its content may no longer be accurate and was last updated on the original publication date. It is intended for reference and as a historical record only. For hep C questions, call Help4Hep BC at 1-888-411-7578.
CDC notes that nearly 20,000 Americans died in 2014 from the widespread, but treatable, illness
WEDNESDAY, May 4, 2016 (HealthDay News) — The number of hepatitis C-linked deaths in the United States reached a record high in 2014, and the virus now kills more Americans than any other infectious disease, health officials report.
There were 19,659 hepatitis C-related deaths in 2014, according to preliminary data from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those tragically high numbers aren’t necessary, one CDC expert said.
“Why are so many Americans dying of this preventable, curable disease? Once hepatitis C testing and treatment are as routine as they are for high cholesterol and colon cancer, we will see people living the long, healthy lives they deserve,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin said in an agency news release.
He directs the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.
If not diagnosed and treated, people with hepatitis C are at increased risk for liver cancer and other life-threatening diseases. They may also unknowingly infect others.
The new CDC study found that the number of hepatitis C-related deaths in 2013 exceeded the combined number of deaths from 60 other infectious diseases, including HIV and tuberculosis.
The numbers might even be higher, the agency said. That’s because the new statistics are based on data from death certificates, which often underreport hepatitis C.
Read more…https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_158651.html