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Press ReleaseFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NVHR LAUNCHES PLAN TO ELIMINATE VIRAL HEPATITIS IN UNITED STATES TACKLING THE ALPHABET OF HEPATITIS A, B, C, D and EWashington D.C. – May 5, 2006 – National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR), a coalition of over 100 organizations dedicated to the fight against viral hepatitis, targets May 10th as the day it unveils from the steps of the Capitol its Plan to Eliminate Viral Hepatitis. Congressional leaders Heather Wilson (R-NM), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Ed Towns (D-NY), and Mike Honda (D-CA) will meet with NVHR members to formally receive the Plan. Congresswoman Wilson is the lead sponsor of the Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act (H.R.1290, and Congressman Ed Towns (D-NY) the lead co-sponsor on the hep C bill, and Congressmen Dent (R-PA) and Honda (D-CA) are the lead sponsors of the Hepatitis B Act (H.R.4550). Developed in response to escalating new infections and the terrible toll such infections take on the infected individual as well as the nation’s healthcare system, NVHR’s Plan promotes research and prevention, integration of public health and clinical care practices, and improved health care for infected persons as methods for eliminating viral hepatitis from the American landscape. The cost of viral hepatitis in the U.S. is staggering. It is estimated that there are at least 13,000 deaths per year due to viral hepatitis and direct and indirect costs for hepatitis A, B and C are estimated to be over $2 billion annually. “Hepatitis organizations across the country have joined to form a single voice, and that voice says, ‘We can eliminate viral hepatitis in America.’ Two years of dedicated work by hundreds of individuals representing millions of infected people has culminated in a comprehensive strategy that, when followed, will stop viral hepatitis in this country,” said NVHR Chair Molli Conti. “NVHR’s Plan gives the U.S. Congress and the States a clear, unifying roadmap for conquering these diseases—everything from how to build capacity and improve services to expanding access to treatment, funding research and increasing disease prevention outreach.” NVHR’s Plan is a multipronged approach to the complex challenge of defeating five different diseases. Within the Plan are four overarching goals with numerous action steps for each goal. Across the country, in every state, members of the NVHR will take the Plan and meet with stakeholders and policy leaders to gain commitments of cooperation for the elimination of viral hepatitis. NVHR Mission: Note to Editors: NVHR has hepatitis, public health and infectious disease experts available for interviews. These experts can answer questions about hepatitis, vaccines, public health policy and other issues related to NVHR’s Plan to Eliminate Viral Hepatitis. NVHR (National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable)
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Copyright© 2003 National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable all rights reserved
