With Hepatitis C Dramatically Growing on Long Island; Schumer Lays Out Plan to Stop It In its Tracks

WITH HEPATITIS C DRAMATICALLY GROWING ON LONG ISLAND; SCHUMER LAYS OUT PLAN TO STOP IT IN ITS TRACKS

New Nassau and Suffolk data shows growing prevalence of Hepatitis C on Long Island - over 11,000 current cases - could pose a greater threat than the emergence of HIV two decades ago

Old blood transfusions, shared needles, tattoos and body piercing seen as causes

Standing with Nassau and Suffolk Health Commissioners, Schumer outlines bipartisan multi-point plan to vastly expand funding and research against Hepatitis C, link new AIDS research to new threats, and other causes

"We can't let crystal meth - the crack-of-the-21st-century -
make hepatitis C the AIDS-of-the-21st-century"

Armed with new data showing that Hepatitis C is becoming a major health crisis on Long Island, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today joined the Nassau County Health Commissioner Dr. David M. Ackman, and Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Brian L. Harper at the Nassau County Department of Health to outline a plan to fight the disease, including the shared needles from the increasingly popular drug crystal meth, as well as the tattoos, body piercing, and unprotected sex that cause the spread of the disease.

"Twenty years ago, when HIV-AIDS was first rearing its ugly head, our health care policy in reaction was to was to stick our collective heads in the sand, and we're still paying the price for not doing what we should have to stop that epidemic in its tracks," Schumer said. "Now we're seeing the early warning signs from health experts that Hepatitis C could quite possibly become the AIDS of the 21st century. If one good thing could ever come out of our nation's early AIDS ignorance, it's that maybe the next time such an ugly epidemic appears on the horizon, we'll move fast to stop it instead of vainly hoping the inevitable never occurs."

Like Hepatitis A and B, Hepatitis C is a member of a family of infectious viruses that attack the liver. Like Hepatitis A and B, Hepatitis C can be effectively controlled when detected early. Unlike Hepatitis A and B, Hepatitis C infections are not preventable through vaccines. And because Hepatis C can cause irrevocable liver damage, and experts fear a shortage of liver transplants in future years to help patients who have the disease.

While hepatitis C infections on Long Island still do not approach those in New York City, experts testifying before a New York State Assembly Health Committee hearing a week and a half ago predicted a tidal wave of infections that is going to hit in 2015 to 2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that within a decade there will be a 279 percent increase in the incidence of liver damage nationwide due to hepatitis C, a 528 percent increase in the need for transplants and a 223 percent increase in the liver-related death rate.

According to the Suffolk County Department of Health, Suffolk County has identified approximately 7,000 residents as having hepatitis C. Suffolk receives approximately 200 hepatitis C reports per week. While some of these are repeat-reports, hepatitis C is Suffolk's most common infectious disease identified through laboratory reporting. The Nassau County Department of Health reported 4,364 cases of chronic hepatitis C in 2004.

According to health experts, the true number of Long Islanders infected with the hepatitis C is far higher than current statistics show. More than 90 percent of Hepatitis C infections do not display symptoms. The incubation period ranges from 2 weeks to 6 months (most commonly 6-9 weeks), and the great majority of the people who have hepatitis C are unaware they are infected for many years. Chronic infection may persist for greater than 20 years before the onset of evidence of the hepatis C like cirrhosis or hepatoma. The overwhelming majority of Long Island cases were first identified in asymptomatic individuals who were attempting to donate blood or applying for life insurance policies.

Because of the long incubation period and lack of overt symptoms for hepatis C and because the federal government has only recently started focusing in earnest on the disease and required centralized reports of the disease's incidences, health experts still do not fully understand transmission of Hepatitis C. While it is known that the disease is spread through shared intravenous drug needles, unsanitary tattoo needles, and unclear body piercing equipment, the incidence is also very high among nasal cocaine users who deny intravenous drug use. New York health experts that Schumer's office has consulted hypothesized that this may be because microscopic drops of blood may be inhaled off of shared straws used to snort drugs. It may also be because crystal meth, cocaine, and other drug users may not remember that they engaged in at-risk activities like unprotected sex acts that they performed while high. And many hepatitis C infections have resulted from blood transfusions in the 1970s, before the virus was screened in the blood supply.

As health experts report that Hepatitis C is beginning to pose a a greater threat on Long Island than the emergence of HIV two decades ago, Schumer today proposed a multi-point plan for Hepatitis C education and training, surveillance and early detection, and research. Working with Republican Senator Kay Bailey Huchison of Texas and Democratic Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Schumer will be co-sponsoring the Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act, which will:

Require the US Department of Health and Human Services to develop and implement a plan for the prevention, control, and management of hepatitis C virus, which will include strategies for education and training, surveillance and early detection, and research. The bill will also require HHS to conduct an assessment of their plan every other year to ensure that it is working and make any required changes.

Require the Federal Government to support the development of voluntary State, local, and tribal hepatitis C testing programs and counseling. It will also provide individuals infected with hepatitis C to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B and other infectious diseases.

Create shared Hepatis C surveillance databases.

Establish a Hepatitis C Clinical Research Network.

Direct the National Institutes of Health to establish a Liver Disease Research Advisory Board.

In addition, Schumer spoke about his efforts to link HIV-AIDS and Hepatitis C- research. Hepatitis C disease trends don't just mirror AIDS trends, many patients have both hepatitis C and HIV. Some 30% of HIV patients also have hepatitis C. Currently, there's no mechanism to properly coordinate testing, services, and the like. Schumer said today that key players involved in this year's reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act are focusing on linking HCV and AIDS treatments and research.

Schumer has a strong record in improving Ryan White, and said today that he would build a similar coalition to try to bring federal action on hepatitis C. In 2003, Schumer introduced an amendment calling for a $215 million increase for AIDS Drug Assistance Program and more money for the rest of the Ryan White CARE Act. In March 2004, in response to a concerted lobbying effort Schumer helped lead, HHS increased the funds for New York City under Title I of the Ryan White CARE Act even as the total amount of funds available nationwide went down. New York received an additional $18.2 million in 2004 - $122.1 million compared to $103.9 million in 2003. This 18% increase was used for outpatient health care, home health and hospice care, nutrition services, case management, and transportation services for persons with AIDS.

Schumer also briefly outlined his efforts to clamp down on crystal meth - a major factor in Hepatitis C growth. Between 1989-1998, there were less than five methamphetamine labs reported in New York State. In 2003,73 methamphetamine labs were reported in New York State. After the President's inauguration this week, Schumer will re-introduce his legislation to make the penalties for selling meth the same as for selling crack cocaine. The bill will make the threshold amounts of meth which trigger tough federal penalties the same as those for crack cocaine. Under current federal law, penalties for drug dealers who sell crack are tough regardless of the purity of the drug, but penalties vary for meth depending on its purity. Dealers who happen to sell meth that is less pure face lower penalties. This endangers local law enforcement who must make more undercover buys before they can make an arrest. It also helps dealers get away with lighter sentences. Under the Schumer bill, all meth and crack cocaine dealers will be treated the same regardless of the purity of the drug. A dealer who sells 50 or more grams of any substance containing a detectable amount of crack now faces a 10 years in jail to life. Someone who sells 5 grams faces a 5 years to 40 years and someone who sells less than 5 grams can face up to 20 years in jail. Schumer's bill matches it for meth.

Schumer will also co-sponsor the bipartisan Methamphetamine Blister Pack Loophole Elimination Act to close a major loophole that aids meth production. Under current federal law, it is illegal to sell more than 9 grams of any bottled pseudoephedrine product, including cold medicine, at one time - far more than would ever be needed for a bad case of the flu. But current law places no limit on the amount of loose pseudoephedrine tablets which can be individually wrapped in large packages known as "blister packs." As a result, meth manufacturers can buy hundreds of cold medicine pills and combine them with other commonly available ingredients to make meth. This bill simply applies the existing 9 gram limit that is already on bottle pseudoephedrine tablets to blister packs as well.

"It's 1984 all over again. Twenty years ago, crack was headed east across the United States like a Mack Truck out of control, and AIDS was starting to ravage our communities. Those twin threats slammed New York hard because we just didn't see the warning signs. Well, the headlights are glaring bright off in the distance again, this time with Hepatis C and meth. We are still paying the price of missing the warning signs back then, and if we don't remember our history we will be doomed to repeat it."

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2005/PR40073.LIHepC11805.html