THE NATIONAL
HEPATITIS C INSTITUTE
The Hepatitis C Awareness & Prevention Campaign


Serving the Hepatitis C Community

 

The National Hepatitis C Institute (NHCI) is a non-profit organization whose mission includes funding for Hepatitis C (HCV) research, awareness, education, and prevention.  Our initial efforts are focused on the State of Washington, directed toward public and medical professions, by providing referral services that offer health care options, including counseling with free or low cost testing for residence.

Currently, each hour of every day, three people die from Hepatitis C. One in fifty, or greater than 5 million citizens in the United States are infected. The disease is often called "The Silent Epidemic", because the infection can linger without symptoms, for decades while causing serious liver damage.

HCV is a "global" public health threat as well; 2-4% of the world population are currently infected according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Eighty-five percent will develop a chronic, life-long, disease, that is characterized by persistent liver dysfunction, possible leading to liver failure. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), as high as 30% of the majority affected by the epidemic, Middle-aged adults, will develop Cirrhosis. 1

Over the last few years, there's been progress in understanding the HCV virus and how it works in the human body, but  there is still no vaccine.

The reason is thought to be linked to the remarkable ability the virus has, "to change" or "mutate." There is little federal funding available for research. This is an area NHCI members work hard to change though legislation that will address the needs of Hepatitis C patients.

Join us in our efforts to stop the spread of Hepatitis C in Washington State and the Nation.

References:
1. NIH Consensus Statements Management of Hepatitis C: 2002 June 10-12, 2002  Vol. 19, No. 1 FINAL STATEMENT August 27,2002 HCV is the most common chronic blood-borne infection  develop cirrhosis 20 years after initial infection as high as 20 to 30 percent in middle-aged subjects

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease ....develop cirrhosis within 10 to 20 years of the onset of infection Liver failure from chronic hepatitis C is one of the most common reasons for liver transplants in the United States.  http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/chrnhepc/chrnhepc.htm

(K70,K73–K74) National Vital Statistics Vol 49 No 11 Deaths: Leading Causes for 1999- by Robert N. Anderson, Ph.D. Division of Vital Statistics    Table 1 page 15 all races and both sexes, ages 25–34 years is the tenth leading causes of death.  For age 45–54, the sixth leading cause of death
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr49/nvsr49_11.pdf

The Body: Natural History and Treatment of Hepatitis C According to former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, "The hepatitis C epidemic poses one of the most serious public health crises faced in this century ...

FIVE MILLION AMERICANS Infected with the Hepatitis C Virus: A Corrected Estimate 

The National Association of Community Health Centers, Inc. (NACHC) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the number of deaths from end-stage liver disease in the U.S. alone will reach 30,000 to 40,000 annually by the year 2010.