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Hepatitis Is A Disease Caused By A Virus

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Hepatitis is a disease caused by a virus that is characterized by liver inflammation. There are three common types of hepatitis – A, B, and C. “Over the past 15 years the incidences of hepatitis and b virus infection in the US have declined significantly. By contrast, the incidence of hepatitis C, formally stable or in decline, has increased 75% since 2010”. (Dan, 2015)
Hepatitis C is transmitted parenterally, often through IV drug use and sexual contact. The CDC links the increase in prevalence of this disease to a rise in injection drug use, especially in white adolescents and young adults who live in non-urban settings. Acute infection progresses to chronic disease in 75-85% of cases. Hepatitis C is usually asymptomatic, even in the presence of liver disease. Chronic hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver related death and liver cancer in the western world. (Dan, 2015)
With the rise of hepatitis C, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has developed new screening recommendations, innovations in assessment and treatment, and an updated action plan that is likely to make an impact in treatment and prevention of the disease. This plan was released in 2011 (updated in 2014) and is the first national, comprehensive, multiagency plan to evolve for hepatitis. The plan outlines actions that can be taken to improve health outcomes for both hepatitis B and C, but the focus is on using this tool to treat and decrease the rising number of hepatitis c cases.

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