HILL
With all of these dangers dominating the news cycle and the congressional calendar, it’s easy to forget the silent threats that also deserve our attention. One of these noiseless threats is viral hepatitis.
Viral hepatitis isn’t in on the evening news every day, but it kills more Americans every year than HIV and all other infectious diseases combined — and it’s on the rise.
An estimated five million people are living with hepatitis B or hepatitis C in the United States. The diseases, which cause cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver and liver failure, directly lead to 21,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Viral hepatitis is also the leading cause of liver cancer —the fastest-growing cause of cancer mortality in the U.S. which kills twice as many Americans now than it did in the 1980s.
Not only is viral hepatitis killing more people; it’s also spreading.
TO CONTINUE http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/338200-in-an-uncertain-world-viral-hepatitis-is-one-problem-we-can