Hepatits C Has Killed More People In The United States Over The Past Decade Than HIV and AIDS Or Any Other Form Of Viral Infection

Let’s be perfectly clear – the Hepatitis C virus, known as HCV, has killed more people in the United States over the past ten years than the AIDS-causing HIV virus. But HIV information and education resources are everywhere, and Hepatitis is the ignored and forgotten killer.  HCV is the leading chronic virus infection leading to death in the United States. The victims most often are baby boomers and most of them do not know they have the virus until it is too late. As many as 2 million of the 5.5 million infected American citizens do not even know they have the virus. While the fight against HIV has been championed, HCV has been allowed to invade our country and do extreme damage that we have chosen to ignore with a smile and a shrug of our shoulders.

Enough is enough!  Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found in a study published in the February 21, 2012 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine that hepatitis C had overtaken HIV as a cause of death in the United States by 2007. Deaths in the United States due to HIV infection have been steadily decreasing, and dropped below 13,000 in 2007, while deaths from hepatitis C infection have been steadily increasing, first surpassing 15,000 per year in 2007. The good news is that the various drug combination strategies that have done so much to transform HIV infection from a death sentence to a manageable disease are poised to further boost cure rates for those infected with hepatitis C.

PERSONS AT RISK According To The CDC

Chronic Hepatitis C has been diagnosed in about three million people in the United States. If you received a blood infusion before 1992 in any country, including America, you are at risk. If you received a blood transfusion in any European country prior to the past ten years, you could be at risk. If you received a blood transfusion in a third world country last year, you could be at risk. A major problem is that HCV often causes no symptoms before it is almost too late and the only viable treatment is a liver transplant. Many who have been infected for years or even decades may remain unaware until deadly symptoms finally appear with a vengeance. The ultimate cause of death attributable to chronic infection is cirrhosis or liver cancer, and there is no vaccine.

Compared to HIV or hepatitis B, the risk of hepatitis C being transmitted by sex is low. However, like HIV, that risk is increased in homosexual encounters. The idea of screening the general population seems obvious. At least, offer screenings at local businesses and clinics like they do with HIV. The problem is that the HCV test is much more expensive and much more difficult to do than the HIV test, What has been controversial is whether or not all baby boomers should be screened, but why the insurance companies are ignoring the threat to their clients and rejecting screening opportunities. Yet, another study suggests that a one-time blood test ordered by primary care providers to screen for antibodies to hepatitis C in those born between 1945 and 1965 would be cost effective – costing $2,874 for each chronically infected patient identified – and would lead to the identification of more than a million previously undiagnosed cases.

SCREENING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CDC

It is important not to mistake Hepatitis A or Hepatitis B for Hepatitis C. Despite having the same name, they are very different diseases. Hepatitis A is the traditional version of hepatitis that we have head about since we were kids. Hepatitis B chronically infects about half as many as hepatitis C in the United States, but it hits those of Asian descent particularly hard. Hepatitis B is responsible for about 1,800 deaths yearly in the United States. Despite the similar names, the two viruses are not closely related. Hepatitis B is spread much more easily through sexual intercourse, and passes from mother to newborn child much more easily. In most adults who become infected the immune system successfully controls infection. In addition, there are vaccines for hepatitis B.

It is time for a medical revolution in regards to Hepatitis C and a powerful campaign across all traditional lines of media to raise awareness. When two million Americans, despite past lifestyle choices, are in critical danger and do not even know it, enough is enough. We must take action or watch the death rates rise even higher until it becomes a black spot on the soul of our country.

Day 110: Adherence, Huh? Weary Of So Many Meds: Pill Fatigue Article Reveals Medication Adherence Is Key! Awesome! Great To Know!

Every single day. Every morning and every night, I have to take those pills. Ribavirin (three pills at night and three in the morning) and the two Protease Inhibitors in the morning. Naturally, this does not include all the medicines to deal with the side effects like the vast array of Anti-Histamines to battle the allergic reactions and the rash like Doxepin, Diphenhydramine, Hydrozine and over-the-counter Allegra three times a day. Not to mention the Omeprazole and over-the-counter Imodium to control the constant acid indigestion and diarrhea that plagues my body and turns eating into a daily chore and struggle. Plus there is Trazodone and the Lunesta to help me sleep when the itching is out of control. Let's not even mention the three different prescription creams and ointments used to battle the rash as well.

Is it any surprise that I have pill fatigue and medication exhaustion? Below is a powerful account of an article from the Annals of Internal Medicine that shows how such a reaction truly becomes a barrier to the cure. Am I perfect with my medication? Please... that is not even a consideration. To be considered well in the clinical trial, 80% medication adherence is considered acceptable and a-okay. I believe that I am probably hovering around the 95% range, but I have definitely spaced a day or two, here and there. Have I done it consciously or is it just an unconscious mistake on account of sickness and exhaustion? To be honest, I would have to say that it is a bit of both. There have been days where taking those pills simply seems impossible.

October 13, 2011   (From the Annals of Internal Medicine)

Hepatitis C Medication Adherence Is an Important Challenge, Study Shows

Identifying and overcoming barriers to hepatitis C medication adherence is an essential component to treatment strategies, according to study results published online by Annals of Internal Medicine.

Patients being treated for chronic hepatitis C become less likely to take their medications over time, the study suggests. The researchers also demonstrated that treatment responses are better when the medications are taken correctly, a finding that should prompt health care providers to assess their patients for barriers to medication adherence and to develop strategies to help them stay on track.

“Our findings are particularly timely since many chronic hepatitis C patients are now being prescribed direct-acting antiviral drugs”—the hepatitis C protease inhibitors Incivek (telaprevir) and Victrelis (boceprevir) are examples—“which have a complex dosing regimen that may be even harder for patients to maintain than the two-drug standard therapy,” said lead author Vincent Lo Re, MD, of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in an accompanying press release. “These data show us that we need to develop and test interventions to help patients be more successful at taking their medicine and have the best chance at being cured.”

Literacy issues, financial hurdles and socioeconomic problems such as unstable living situations can all hamper patients’ abilities to properly maintain their drug regimen. The authors suggest that refilling patients’ pill boxes for them, creating easy-to-follow dosing and refill schedules, and helping them set alarms to remind them to take their medicine may all help improve adherence.

Lo Re’s group studied 5,706 people living with hepatitis C who had been prescribed the standard treatment for the virus—once-weekly pegylated interferon injections and twice-daily ribavirin—using pharmacy refill data and test results for virologic response during treatment. The researchers found that patients who refilled their prescriptions on time had a higher likelihood of being cured of the infection. However, over the course of patients’ treatment, adherence waned—and more often for ribavirin.

That pattern, the authors note, is similar to that among patients taking drugs for other chronic conditions, such as HIV, during which patients often develop so-called “pill fatigue.”

The newer, more powerful direct-acting antiviral drugs, which must be taken every eight hours, will add to the complexity, and cost, of hepatitis C treatment. In addition, if the newer direct-acting antiviral drugs aren’t taken properly, the hepatitis C virus may become resistant to treatment, compromising the chance of a cure.

Monitoring for and treating drug-related side effects may also be a key factor in boosting adherence, the authors conclude. The study results showed that patients who received medication for thyroid dysfunction, anemia or low white blood cell counts—common side effects associated with hepatitis C treatment—were more likely to remain adherent to their antiviral therapy.

“We know that a major barrier to adherence is side effects of these drugs. People don’t feel good when they’re on them,” Lo Re said. “If we can identify those problems and treat them when they occur, patients may be more motivated and feel well enough to continue with their prescribed regimen.”

Day 96 Morning - Weary Of Taking All Those Damn Pills Every Day: Pill Fatigue Article Shows How Important Medication Adherence Is To The Cure

Every single day. Every morning and every night, I have to take those pills. Ribavirin (three pills at night and three in the morning) and the two Protease Inhibitors in the morning. Naturally, this does not include all the medicines to deal with the side effects like the vast array of Anti-Histamines to battle the allergic reactions and the rash like Doxepin, Diphenhydramine, Hydrozine and over-the-counter Allegra three times a day.

The Endless Array Of Pills For Hep C Treatment Naturally Leads To Pill Fatigue

Not to mention the Omeprazole and over-the-counter Imodium to control the constant acid indigestion and diarrhea that plagues my body and turns eating into a daily chore and struggle. Plus there is Trazodone and the Lunesta to help me sleep when the itching is out of control. Let's not even mention the three different prescription creams and ointments used to battle the rash as well. And, of course, the Aplenzin antidepressant medication that I take once in the morning to avoid the darkness that this treatment offers as a special delivery to all the willing patients as patience runs low.

Is it any surprise that I have pill fatigue and medication exhaustion? Below is a powerful account of an article from the Annals of Internal Medicine that shows how such a reaction truly becomes a barrier to the cure. Am I perfect with my medication? Please... that is not even a consideration. To be considered well in the clinical trial, 80% medication adherence is considered acceptable and a-okay. I believe that I am probably hovering around the 95% range, but I have definitely spaced a day or two, here and there.

Not Again: A Constant Battle Every Day Against Medication Exhaustion

Have I done it consciously or is it just an unconscious mistake on account of sickness and exhaustion? To be honest, I would have to say that it is a bit of both. There have been certain days when even the idea of popping pills in my mouth makes me gag, and I cannot imagine getting up and stuffing them down my gullet. Those are the bad days, but they are few and far between in most cases.

If I can't be honest about the challenges faced and my difficulties, what the hell can I be honest about? This is my truth and this is what I am experiencing and I am not always doing my best, but I must admit that I am doing better than expected considering the torrential storm of side effects and I am hanging in there as the rains pound the pavement and the razor wind rips away the smile from my face.

Here is the article excerpted below...

October 13, 2011 - AIDS MEDS WEBSITE (From the Annals of Internal Medicine)

Hepatitis C Medication Adherence Is an Important Challenge, Study Shows

Identifying and overcoming barriers to hepatitis C medication adherence is an essential component to treatment strategies, according to study results published online by Annals of Internal Medicine.

Patients being treated for chronic hepatitis C become less likely to take their medications over time, the study suggests. The researchers also demonstrated that treatment responses are better when the medications are taken correctly, a finding that should prompt health care providers to assess their patients for barriers to medication adherence and to develop strategies to help them stay on track.

“Our findings are particularly timely since many chronic hepatitis C patients are now being prescribed direct-acting antiviral drugs”—the hepatitis C protease inhibitors Incivek (telaprevir) and Victrelis (boceprevir) are examples—“which have a complex dosing regimen that may be even harder for patients to maintain than the two-drug standard therapy,” said lead author Vincent Lo Re, MD, of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in an accompanying press release. “These data show us that we need to develop and test interventions to help patients be more successful at taking their medicine and have the best chance at being cured.”

Literacy issues, financial hurdles and socioeconomic problems such as unstable living situations can all hamper patients’ abilities to properly maintain their drug regimen. The authors suggest that refilling patients’ pill boxes for them, creating easy-to-follow dosing and refill schedules, and helping them set alarms to remind them to take their medicine may all help improve adherence.

Lo Re’s group studied 5,706 people living with hepatitis C who had been prescribed the standard treatment for the virus—once-weekly pegylated interferon injections and twice-daily ribavirin—using pharmacy refill data and test results for virologic response during treatment. The researchers found that patients who refilled their prescriptions on time had a higher likelihood of being cured of the infection. However, over the course of patients’ treatment, adherence waned—and more often for ribavirin.

That pattern, the authors note, is similar to that among patients taking drugs for other chronic conditions, such as HIV, during which patients often develop so-called “pill fatigue.”

The newer, more powerful direct-acting antiviral drugs, which must be taken every eight hours, will add to the complexity, and cost, of hepatitis C treatment. In addition, if the newer direct-acting antiviral drugs aren’t taken properly, the hepatitis C virus may become resistant to treatment, compromising the chance of a cure.

Monitoring for and treating drug-related side effects may also be a key factor in boosting adherence, the authors conclude. The study results showed that patients who received medication for thyroid dysfunction, anemia or low white blood cell counts—common side effects associated with hepatitis C treatment—were more likely to remain adherent to their antiviral therapy.

“We know that a major barrier to adherence is side effects of these drugs. People don’t feel good when they’re on them,” Lo Re said. “If we can identify those problems and treat them when they occur, patients may be more motivated and feel well enough to continue with their prescribed regimen.”