Current Prevention Approach Not Working on Hepatitis B and C

The current approach to prevention and control of chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C is not working, says an Institute of Medicine study. It finds that as many as 5.3 million people in the United States have hepatitis B or C but most are unaware until they develop liver cancer or liver disease, researchers say. The report concludes that hepatitis is not widely recognized as a serious public health problem. As a result, viral hepatitis prevention, control and surveillance programs have inadequate resources.