John Kerry proposes new legislation to reduce mortality rate, spread of hepatitis C

In an effort to improve treatments and slow the spread of hepatitis C across the country, U.S. Senator John Kerry recently presented the Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Control and Prevention Act. If this bill is established, government officials report that it may help protect against avoidable deaths related to the infection and low the costs associated with the epidemic.

This legislation would combine private, public and voluntary efforts to reduce the incidence and mortality rate of this infection. Over the next five years, approximately $600 million in funding would be put towards creating a national prevention campaign.

Kerry's act is sponsored by more than 100 public service associations that offer hepatitis screenings, treatment options and counseling programs for those infected with the bacteria. This legislation will be joined by a bill awaiting approval by the House of Representatives, which is currently supported by more than 60 organizations.

Lorren Sandt, executive director of the Caring Ambassadors Program, stated that this legislation is "urgently needed to modernize our nation's public health response to chronic viral hepatitis." She added that "screening and early intervention are critical to achieving better outcomes for infected patients and must be a national priority."

In 2007, researchers estimated that more than 17,000 new cases of hepatitis C were found in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.