Hepatitis
Hepatitis refers to inflammation of the liver, most commonly caused by one of five viral strains — A, B, C, D, and E — each differing in transmission, severity, and treatability. Despite vaccines that can prevent hepatitis A and B, and curative treatments available for hepatitis C, more than 86,000 acute viral hepatitis infections were estimated to have occurred and nearly 13,000 hepatitis-related deaths were reported in the United States in 2023. Hepatitis A spreads primarily through contaminated food and water and is vaccine-preventable; most cases resolve on their own. An estimated 660,000 adults in the U.S. are living with chronic hepatitis B, which is transmitted through blood, sexual contact, or mother to child, and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer if untreated. Hepatitis C — the most consequential strain in the U.S. — affects an estimated 2.2 million adults, with approximately 67,400 new infections occurring in 2022 alone, and more than 12,700 hepatitis C-related deaths that year, despite the availability of highly effective curative therapies. Hepatitis D only occurs in those already infected with hepatitis B, while hepatitis E is rare in the U.S. and primarily affects travelers. Across all types, disparities in diagnosis, access to care, and treatment uptake remain significant barriers to elimination.
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