What to know
Dear Colleague
CDC joins our partners each May to recognize Hepatitis Awareness Month. This observance serves as a time to raise awareness about viral hepatitis and to encourage conversations around testing, prevention, and timely treatment.
Millions of Americans are living with viral hepatitis, yet hundreds of thousands of people do not know they are infected. Without treatment, hepatitis B and hepatitis C can progress to severe liver disease, liver cancer, and death. Fortunately, hepatitis B can be treated and hepatitis C can be cured. Testing is the gateway to life-saving treatment. Today, May 19th, is National Hepatitis Testing Day. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C testing is recommended for all adults, all pregnant women, anyone with risk factors, and anyone who requests testing regardless of disclosure of risk.
Despite the availability of life-saving treatment for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, recently released viral hepatitis data reveal that over 12,000 viral hepatitis-related deaths were reported in the United States in 2024. While this represents a 25% reduction in the hepatitis B-related death rate and a 55% reduction in the hepatitis C-related death rate compared to 2013 when highly effective, well-tolerated curative hepatitis C treatment became available, far too few people with hepatitis B and hepatitis C receive life-saving treatment.
It's essential that testing and treatment are available in the settings where people with viral hepatitis receive care. Simplified treatment guidance is available for primary care providers treating people with hepatitis B, as well as for providers treating people with hepatitis C, including considerations for utilizing point-of-care testing to facilitate same-encounter testing and rapid treatment initiation. Viral hepatitis treatment saves lives and money. A recent study estimates that treating everyone with chronic hepatitis C with curative direct acting antiviral agents (DAAs) would save an estimated $147 billion in projected medical costs.
As we look forward to the 80th anniversary of CDC, we reflect on the progress we've made in eight decades and thank you for all you've already done to fight viral hepatitis. We are grateful for your partnership as we continue toward a shared goal of a viral hepatitis-free United States. CDC's About Hepatitis Awareness Month webpage and Hepatitis Awareness Month Social Media Toolkit are here to assist you in that fight to spread the message of prevention, testing, and treatment of these harmful diseases.
Sincerely,
/Carolyn Wester/
Carolyn Wester, MD, MPH
Director, Division of Viral Hepatitis
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services