[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 31, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5520-S5521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 600--RECOGNIZING JULY 28, 2018, AS ``WORLD HEPATITIS 
                                 DAY''

  Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 600

       Whereas hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and the incidence of 
     liver disease caused by such viruses have become urgent 
     problems of a global proportion;
       Whereas, worldwide, an estimated--
       (1) 1,340,000 people die each year due to hepatitis;
       (2) 257,000,000 people live with chronic hepatitis B;
       (3) 887,000 people die each year mostly due to a liver-
     related illness caused by hepatitis B;
       (4) 71,000,000 people are chronically infected with 
     hepatitis C; and
       (5) 399,000 people die each year due to a liver-related 
     illness caused by hepatitis C;
       Whereas, in the United States, an estimated--
       (1) 5,700,000 people are infected with hepatitis B or 
     hepatitis C;
       (2) 2,200,000 people are chronically infected with 
     hepatitis B; and
       (3) 3,500,000 people are chronically infected with 
     hepatitis C;
       Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
     (referred to in this preamble as the ``CDC'') estimates that, 
     in 2016, there were 20,900 new acute hepatitis B infections 
     and 41,200 new acute hepatitis C infections in the United 
     States;
       Whereas the CDC has found significant increases in the 
     amount of new hepatitis cases in the United States since 
     2010, including a 3.5-fold increase between 2010 and 2016 in 
     reported cases of acute hepatitis C infections;
       Whereas chronic viral hepatitis claims thousands of lives 
     each year in the United States, with an estimated 18,153 
     deaths due to hepatitis C in 2016;
       Whereas, between 2015 and 2020, there is estimated to be 
     $136,000,000,000 in hepatitis C

[[Page S5521]]

     drug spending from all payers, and government payers would 
     fund $61,000,000,000, an estimated 45 percent of such 
     spending;
       Whereas an estimated 80 percent of people with acute 
     Hepatitis C do not have any symptoms;
       Whereas African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific 
     Islanders, Latinos, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, gay and 
     bisexual men, and people who inject drugs intravenously have 
     higher rates of chronic viral hepatitis infections in the 
     United States than other groups of people;
       Whereas Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders bear the 
     greatest burden of hepatitis B-related deaths in the United 
     States;
       Whereas hepatitis C is 10 times more infectious than human 
     immunodeficiency virus (referred to in this preamble as 
     ``HIV'');
       Whereas hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than 
     HIV;
       Whereas an estimated 25 percent of people who live in the 
     United States and are infected with HIV are also infected 
     with hepatitis C;
       Whereas, while life expectancies for individuals infected 
     with HIV have increased with antiretroviral treatment, liver 
     disease, which is commonly related to hepatitis B and 
     hepatitis C infections, has become the most common cause of 
     death among HIV-infected individuals that is not related to 
     acquired immune deficiency syndrome;
       Whereas, despite the fact that chronic viral hepatitis is 
     the most common blood-borne infection in the United States, 
     more than half of the people living with hepatitis B and 
     hepatitis C are unaware of their infections;
       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 people who inject 
     drugs intravenously;
       Whereas the goals of ``World Hepatitis Day'' on July 28, 
     2018, are to--
       (1) highlight the global nature of chronic viral hepatitis 
     epidemics;
       (2) recognize that hepatitis can be prevented and 
     eliminated, in part, through a comprehensive public education 
     and awareness campaign designed to identify those at risk 
     for, and living with, hepatitis;
       (3) inform patients about new treatments that are available 
     for hepatitis; and
       (4) help increase the length and quality of life for people 
     diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C 
     infections: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes World Hepatitis Day;
       (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 5,700,000 
     people in the United States and 328,000,000 people worldwide 
     who have hepatitis.

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