THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ENCOURAGES HEPATITIS AWARENESS DURING STATE CAPITOL RALLY

~Florida participates in World Hepatitis Day’s effort to stop the spread of hepatitis B and C~

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Department of Health (DOH) joins the world today in asking “Am I Number 12?” to increase awareness of the amazing statistic that one in 12 people on the planet are living with hepatitis B or hepatitis C. In a press conference held today at the State Capitol to observe World Hepatitis Day, the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Hepatitis Program outlined the need for strong hepatitis prevention education and helped launch the worldwide hepatitis awareness campaign.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 180 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C, and 350-400 million people worldwide are living with hepatitis B, a virus 100 times more infectious than HIV.

The highly infectious hepatitis B virus is transmitted through blood and body fluids and can survive for up to one week outside the body. It is estimated that more than 18 thousand people in Florida are infected with hepatitis B.

“Hepatitis is not something people know much about so many individuals don’t take the necessary and readily available steps to protect themselves,” said Jean L. Kline, Deputy Secretary for DOH. “That’s why we’re out here today to educate Floridians about hepatitis and to encourage testing, vaccination and prevention.”

Vaccines are readily available and very effective for both hepatitis A and B and a simple blood test can detect the viruses. Hepatitis C, however, is known as the silent epidemic. It often lies undetected for a few decades and is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis and liver failure. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. More than 300,000 Floridians are infected with hepatitis C.

World Hepatitis Day is an opportunity for the global hepatitis community to increase awareness of viral hepatitis and alert a worldwide audience to risk factors and symptoms of this infection. The inaugural World Hepatitis Day was held in 2004. Recognizing the growing problem of hepatitis, the United States became an official participant of this observance this year.

DOH promotes, protects and improves the health of all people in Florida. For more information, visit www.worldhepatitisday.org or www.doh.state.fl.us/disease_ctrl/aids/hep/index.html.