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Speak Up

November 22, 2009 Subject: Dear Mr. President, Our country is currently in the midst of a very real epidemic: the hepatitis C crisis. As the President of the United States, you are responsible for protecting the health and safety of the American people. While the media focuses on potential threats that may never be realized (e.g., avian influenza) and rare illnesses that affect only a handful of Americans (e.g., West Nile virus and SARS), hepatitis C goes largely unrecognized. Hepatitis C is the most common, blood-borne chronic viral illness in the U.S. The number of Americans infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is 5-times greater than the number living with HIV/AIDS. Yet, to date, your administration has remained silent about this public health crisis and recently denied a request for a Presidential Proclamation recognizing May 2006 as National Hepatitis Awareness Month. Conservative estimates generated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that approximately 5 million Americans have already been infected with HCV. Hepatitis C is very serious medical condition that poses an enormous threat to the health of the American people as evidenced by the following facts: • Chronic hepatitis C is the leading indication for adult liver transplantation in the U.S. The demand for liver transplants for this indication has increased by a least 12-fold since 1990. • Chronic liver disease is now among the top ten causes of death for Americans age 25 years and older. Chronic hepatitis C is the leading cause of chronic liver disease in the U.S. accounting for up to 60% of all cases. Chronic liver disease associated with coinfection with hepatitis C and/or hepatitis B is now a leading cause of death for those with HIV/AIDS. • Hepatitis C is a known human carcinogen. The incidence of liver cancer among Americans more than doubled between 1975 and 1998. The number of new cases of liver cancer and the associated number of liver cancer deaths are expected to double again in the U.S. over the next 10 to 20 years. • The hepatitis C epidemic in the U.S. is expected to result in 3.1 million years of life lost by 2019 unless immediate intervention is implemented to control the HCV epidemic. • The projected direct and indirect costs of the current HCV epidemic, if left unchecked, will be over $85 billion for the years 2010 through 2019. Mr. President, you have a responsibility to the American people to raise awareness about the hepatitis C epidemic, which currently affects at least one in 50 Americans. I respectfully urge you to reverse your administration’s previous decision and to help us educate the American public by issuing a Presidential Proclamation recognizing May 2006 as National Hepatitis Awareness Month. Further, I ask that you urge Congress to set their attention on passage of The Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act [S.521/H.R.1290] We will add your signature from the information you provide.		First Name* Last Name* Email* Street* Street 2 City* State/Province* Select a state Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Armed Forces (the) Americas Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland New Brunswick Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territory Other Zip/Postal Code* Send an Email