The hepatitis community has drafted the attached letter to key Senate members requesting inclusion of funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Viral Hepatitis in the Senate version of the economic stimulus bill.

We would like to send the letter next week, and are seeking organizational sign ons. If you are interested in signing on your organization, please let Martha Saly mbsaly@NVHR.org know by close of business, Wednesday, January 21. A final copy of the letter with all signatories will be sent to all organizations that have signed on.

In addition, individual organizations are encouraged to send separate letters to key Senators, particularly if you are from their state. Senators the letter will be sent to:

Harry Reid (NV)
Richard Durbin (IL)
Daniel Inouye (HI)
Thad Cochran (MS)
Tom Harkin (IA)
Arlen Specter (PA)
Mitch McConnell (KY)

Please feel free to share this with others in your networks who may be interested. Thank you for your continued dedication to addressing the viral hepatitis epidemics in the United States. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Chris Taylor, Senior Program Manager, Viral Hepatitis
National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors
444 North Capitol Street NW, Suite 339, Washington, DC  20001
Phone: (202) 434-8041     Fax: (202) 434-8092
ctaylor@NASTAD.org     www.NASTAD.org

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Sample letter:

January 16, 2008

The Honorable Harry Reid
The Honorable Richard Durbin
The Honorable Daniel Inouye
The Honorable Thad Cochran
The Honorable Tom Harkin
The Honorable Arlen Specter
The Honorable Mitch McConnell

United States Senate
Washington, DC  20510

Dear Senator,

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we request your support for increased funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) in the Senate stimulus package.  Increased funding for DVH will make a significant impact in reducing the morbidity and mortality from chronic viral hepatitis, an investment that would not only prevent viral hepatitis infections, but stimulate the economy by creating much needed jobs.

We also want to thank you for your longstanding commitment to maintaining the health of our nation by vigorously supporting federal funding of our nation’s public health and research agencies. Through your leadership, CDC is poised to turn the tide against chronic viral hepatitis in the United States but can not respond effectively without additional funding.

Specifically, we are seeking the following hepatitis-specific funding:

• $53 million to improve the detection of viral hepatitis by creating a complete and consistent national surveillance system;
• $113 million to reduce illness and death from chronic viral hepatitis by building the capacity of state and local health departments to provide counseling, testing, education, case management, public awareness, and professional education;
• $66.6 million to eliminate hepatitis B transmission among adults in the U.S. by providing vaccines to high risk adults and the infrastructure necessary for vaccine delivery; and
• $26.4 million to prevent hepatitis B transmission and disease among infected pregnant women and their infants by creating a comprehensive case management program to vaccinate and monitor exposed infants, referring infected mothers for appropriate care, and screening and vaccinating family members.

Up to 5-6 million Americans are infected with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV), which are the leading causes of primary liver cancer -- the fastest growing cancer in incidence in the U.S.  Each year, 10,000 Americans die prematurely from end-stage liver disease or liver cancer due to chronic viral hepatitis infections. Without an increase in funding to support prevention and surveillance capacity, chronic viral hepatitis will exact an unacceptably high burden of disease, death, and associated costs on the American public. Immediate action will avert this result.

We strongly support the need to invest in CDC capacity to win the battle against chronic viral hepatitis, which will ultimately lower health care costs and most important, improve the health and longevity of our citizens. Should you have questions, please contact Joan Block at 215.489.4900 or joan@hepb.org.

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