This illness is far more pervasive and contagious
than HIV/AIDS. Roughly 180 million people worldwide suffer
from this disease. The costs of medical treatment are also
higher.
Within the USA there are approximately +5 million people
who suffer from Hepatitis C. It is called the "Silent
Epidemic" because many of those infected do not know
they are but for the most part, the citizens of the USA are
not even aware of this disease. These people generally become
aware of this illness only when the signs and symptoms for
this disease become apparent-generally when they reach the
ages of 35 to 45 years of age-the prime of their lives, being
the most productive for both business and government (by paying
a higher percentage for taxes).
Long-Term Consequences of Hepatitis C Virus Infection- What are the chances
of persons with Hepatitis C Virus infection developing long-term infection,
chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer, or dying as
a result of hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a leading indication for liver transplants.
Many people who are infected with Hepatitis C do not show
any physical or mental symptoms of the illness for 10 to 20
years after exposure. During this window, they are infectious
and because of this lack of awareness, may infect others unknowingly.
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Document
Name & Link to Document |
Description |
File Type /
Size ** |
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Approximate Time Line for Hepatitis
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Historical timeline of Hepatitis |
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Chronic Hepatitis C: Epidemiology and Economic Burden
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Death rates due to Hepatitis C Virus are expected to
increase over the next 20 years. Estimates of death rates
may underestimate the actual death rate because of
underreporting of liver disease and underreporting of
deaths due to liver disease on death certificates and in
other databases
Healthcare costs for Hepatitis C Virus include managing patients'
symptoms, managing other organ involvement, treating Hepatitis C Virus
with antiviral agents, and managing end-stage liver
disease as well as the cost of liver transplantation. Wong
and coworkers estimated that the annual US healthcare cost
for Hepatitis C Virus will exceed $1 billion by the year 2008 and
continue to increase up to at least the year 2015 |
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CONSEQUENCES OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS (HCV) COSTS OF A BABY
BOOMER EPIDEMIC OF LIVER DISEASE |
Power Point Presentation-Annual medical costs for
patients with HCV infection are expected to more than
double, from $30 billion to over $85 billion over the
next 15 years. |
1727 kb |
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Controversial Hepatitis C Virus: The Case for Selective
Treatment |
Natural History of Hepatitis C Virus and Predictors of
Adverse Outcomes |
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the various issues surrounding infectious diseases. To
find out more click
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Cost of Hepatitis C |
We
estimate $5.46 billion as the cost of HCV in 1997.
Costs are split as follows: 33% for direct and 67% for
indirect costs. Hepatitis C virus that results in
chronic liver disease contributes roughly 92% of the
costs, and HCV that results in primary liver cancer
contributes the remaining 8%. The total estimate of
$5.46 billion is conservative, because we ignore costs
associated with pain and suffering and the value of care
rendered by family members. |
Pdf
101 kb |
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Cost of Hepatitis C Virus in relation to insurance costs |
Medical cost of Hepatitis C Virus that insurance
companies face with this disease |
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Cost of unsafe injections |
Unsafe injection practices are associated with substantial
morbidity and mortality, particularly from hepatitis B and
C and human immunodeficiency virus infections. These
inadvertently transmitted bloodborne diseases become
manifest some considerable time after infection and hence
may not be appropriately accounted for. Annually
more than 1.3 million deaths and US$ 535 million are
estimated to be due to current unsafe injection practices.
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85 kb pdf |
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Economic Implication of Hepatitis B Vaccination at
Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinics in the United States
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This
cost model demonstrates that hepatitis B vaccination
implemented at STD clinics throughout the US would result
in a net savings in medical costs from the reduction in
new infections. The extent of this savings should be
considered conservative since it does not include
antiviral treatment, liver-transplant, and work-loss. |
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Estimate Future Hepatitis C Virus Morbidity, Mortality
Costs in the US |
Estimating future hepatitis C morbidity,
mortality, and costs in the United States |
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Estimated future Hepatitis C Virus morbidity, mortality |
Journal article concerning the total cost
of Hepatitis C Virus-includes tables and graphs |
PDF / 133KB |
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Financial cost of
diseases |
Insurance Report on the Financial Costs of
Infectious Diseases and how private industries can protect
themselves from the economic burden of... |
PDF / 211KB |
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Hepatitis C diagnoses rise; health cost concerns spread
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More
patients with the hepatitis C virus, the leading cause of
liver failure in the United States, are turning up in
doctors offices across Metro Detroit with liver damage - a
phenomenon likely to drive up health care costs over the
next decade. The problem is not that the virus is
spreading but that more people are finding out they're
infected. The majority of people with hepatitis C - an
estimated 4 million nationwide - don't know they have it.
An estimated 180,000 Michigan residents are unknowingly
infected with the virus, state data shows. |
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Hepatitis C Virus-Math Model |
Estimates of the cost-effectiveness of a
single course of interferon-alpha2b in patients with
histologically mild chronic Hepatitis C |
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Hepatitis C Virus-mortality New York |
Hepatitis C Mortality and Complication
Rates in New York Determined |
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Outcomes and Costs of Care in Hepatitis C. |
Outcomes and Costs of Care in Hepatitis C:
Combination Therapy Scores |
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Ramatex On Rack Again |
Filipino workers feel so strongly about their working
conditions that they have sent an appeal to their
government through its South African embassy.A
petition signed by nearly 700 employees cites poor wages,
cramped living conditions and health concerns as their
most pressing grievances.Their
concerns peaked last week, when at least two employees
were forced to return to the Philippines after being
declared sick and unfit to work, assertions they dispute.A
group of about five were told by the company nurse that
they had contracted hepatitis C - a viral infection of the
liver. |
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Researchers fear ultimate toll of hepatitis C may surpass
AIDS |
Between 8,000 and 10,000 people in the U.S.
die each year from hepatitis C-related disease and liver
cancer, and another 5,000 are listed for liver
transplants. About 4,000 liver transplants are performed
each year because of hepatitis C, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
But
those numbers may double or even triple over the next
decade, Jensen said. |
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Soaring Rates of Hepatitis C Virus pose Dilemma in
Prisons |
Report on the possible treatment of Hepatitis C Virus for
inmates and the cost of that treatment that prisons
officials face |
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The burden of hepatitis C in the United
States |
Outpatient physician services were
projected to be $24 million. During the same year, $530
million was spent for the antiviral treatment of Hepatitis C Virus |
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Through the Looking Glass-Hepatitis C Virus |
Historic research article on the effects of
Hepatitis C Virus on patients: costs and social impact—Canada |
PDF / 305KB |
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