[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S4864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL HEPATITIS B AWARENESS WEEK

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the week of 
May 9, 2005 as National Hepatitis B Awareness Week.
  I thank Senator Santorum, who introduced this resolution with me, as 
well as Senators Specter, Stabenow, Inouye, and Durbin who cosponsored 
it.
  In the United States today, more than 1.25 million Americans are 
infected with hepatitis B. Chronic hepatitis B is often called a 
``silent disease'' because more than two-thirds of patients infected 
with the disease have no symptoms or their symptoms go unrecognized.
  Chronic hepatitis B infection is a potentially life threatening 
disease that may lead to cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure and 
liver cancer. More than half a million people worldwide die each year 
from primary liver cancer, and up to 80 percent of primary liver 
cancers are caused by chronic hepatitis B. In the United States, more 
than one million people have developed chronic hepatitis B infection 
and more than 5,000 Americans die from hepatitis B and hepatitis B-
related liver complications each year.
  Despite these alarming statistics, however, it is estimated that only 
a small percentage of chronic hepatitis B patients are currently 
receiving treatment for their disease. Approximately 15 to 40 percent 
of chronically infected hepatitis B patients will develop liver disease 
due to long-term exposure. Of chronic hepatitis B patients who develop 
cirrhosis, almost half of them may die within five years because of the 
high risk of liver cancer associated with the progression of the 
disease.
  Upon closer examination of hepatitis B, researchers have found 
alarmingly disproportionate rates of infection among Asian Pacific 
Islanders and African Americans. In the U.S., as many as one out of ten 
Asian Pacific Islanders Americans are chronically infected with the 
hepatitis B virus.
  California has initiated a number of programs to ensure that we are 
working to stop the transmission of Hepatitis B through vaccine 
programs and disease management programs intended to make living with 
the disease more comfortable.
  I recognize the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health 
Organizations, AAPCHO, which is based in Oakland, CA, and the partners 
across the country with whom they are working to demystify and educate 
citizens about hepatitis B.
  During National Hepatitis B Awareness Week, the ``AIM for the B: 
Awareness, Involvement and Mobilization for Chronic Hepatitis B'' 
campaign will consist of a series of local awareness forums and 
educational roundtables featuring doctors, patients and families and 
patient advocates. Two will be held in California--one in San Francisco 
and one in San Jose--in addition to various other sites around the 
country to raise awareness and open the dialogue about chronic 
hepatitis B, prevention, disease management, and future advances.
  It is my hope that National Hepatitis B Awareness Week will raise the 
profile of hepatitis B, facilitate open dialogue about what we can do 
in our families and communities to stop the transmission of this 
disease and arm ourselves with the knowledge to fight back against 
hepatitis B.
  We possess the weapons to combat hepatitis B, including vaccination 
and treatment. For those infected, treatment options exist that are 
designed to stop the progression of liver disease and reduce liver 
damage. As we recognize National Hepatitis B Awareness Week, I 
encourage Americans who may be at risk for chronic hepatitis B to get 
tested for the disease, and physicians and patients to understand there 
is a large group of patients who do need treatment right now.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the great strides made 
in hepatitis B awareness and treatment and acknowledge the ongoing 
battle during National Hepatitis B Awareness Week.

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