Awareness Days and Months: With Much to Celebrate, But More to Do

Days of awareness for medical conditions and diseases help to give the general public a reminder about such health conditions, education, as well as an opportunity for patients, clinicians, and researchers to coalesce around specific diseases and conditions.

Globally, this Sunday marks the annual World Hepatitis Day and it began in the adoption of a resolution that was passed at the World Health Assembly back in 2010.¹ The day’s primary focus is for national and international awareness about hepatitis. Originally celebrated on a different day, the date was changed to July 28 annually to celebrate and honor Nobel Laureate Baruch Samuel Blumberg, MD, DPhil, discoverer of the hepatitis B virus, whose birthday is on that date.¹

Additionally, the first Hepatitis Awareness Month has been celebrated in the United States since 2001.

Through the years, exciting advances have been made to identify different strains of hepatitis, bring about curative therapies, and the development of vaccines. On the education front, in 1997 the first satellite teleconference on hepatitis cosponsored by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Hepatitis Foundation International (HFI). The CDC distributed 22,000 videos of that teleconference to physicians and health departments nationwide. These initial steps laid the groundwork for the development of sorely needed research. For example, there was the long awaited identification of the hepatitis C virus that was discovered by Michael Houghton, PhD, and who has since developed an investigational HCV vaccine that is currently being studied.

Read more: Can We Eliminate Hepatitis C?

The treacherous hepatitis C viruses viciously attack the body's amazing internal, life-creating and sustaining chemical refinery—the tragically ignored liver. This miraculous organ and hundreds of amazing liver cells work nonstop converting the food we ingest into hundreds of essential life supporting body parts and functions that keep our bodies functioning 24/7.

They create the energy we use to get up each day, to get dressed and be active human beings. They make strong muscles and bones; clotting factors to prevent hemorrhages from even a small laceration; and hundreds more essential body functions including sex hormones we all take for granted.

Tragically these liver cells are favorite targets of hepatitis C and like to destroy their ability to keep all our body parts functioning. Amazing medications destroy hepatitis viruses; however, the liver has no way of letting its owner know it is in trouble. It is up to us to share this information with everyone and especially those who are already infected to get treated and prevent the spread of a curable disease.