May is National Hepatitis Awareness Month | KXNet.com North Dakota News

"World Hepatitis Day. It is important to raise awareness about the global impact of viral hepatitis and preventing hepatitis-related liver disease. More than three million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection. Injection drug use and blood transfusions received prior to 1992, when blood donor screening for HCV became available, are common risk factors for HCV infection. People should get tested for hepatitis C if they are at risk for infection. Hepatitis C is the most common blood borne infection, the major cause of chronic liver disease and the leading reason for liver transplantation in the United States."

More than 12,000 patients 'being offered HIV and Hepatitis C tests' - Telegraph

"All patients treated by the worker, who had not been named, are to be contacted by NHS Lewisham and offered the blood tests.

The healthcare trust said that it understood how concerned patients would be but emphasised that there was a small chance that they would have contracted either disease."

Pharmasset cancels hepatitis drug development - Forbes.com

"Pharmasset Inc. said Monday it is ending development of its most advanced drug candidate, clevudine, over concerns of severe muscle weakness in hepatitis B patients.

Pharmasset said it made the decision to end the late-stage Quash studies voluntarily, following discussions with an independent monitoring board and the Food and Drug Administration. The company is maintaining its focus on a separate hepatitis C program with its partner Roche ( RHHBY.PK - news - people )."

No Further Cases of Hepatitis Infection Found Since VA Investigation Started Last Week – But Many Veterans Still Awaiting Test Results | InjuryBoard Council Bluffs

"Over a week after the Veterans Affairs Department released an email that it was investigating “the possibility of [a] relationship” between a patient’s positive HIV test and unsterilized equipment, many veterans remain ill at ease. The Miami Herald reports that since one of Miami’s VA hospital was named as one in which patients may have been accidentally infected with HIV or hepatitis, the hospital has received almost 3,000 worried calls and hundreds of visits from concerned veterans. The reaction was set off when the VA explained that improper sterilization of endoscopic equipment used in colonoscopies and other medical procedures may have resulted in a chance that veterans could contract hepatitis or HIV."

Vaccination fears over plan for Hepatitis B jabs for babies - Telegraph

"Government health experts are considering whether to add the vaccine to a jab given to children at eight weeks.

The option, to be discussed by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in June, would create a six-in-one vaccine that would also immunise against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Hib disease – a form of pneumonia."

The Associated Press: Ex-Army nurse pleads guilty in hepatitis C case

"A former Fort Bliss nurse accused of infecting patients with hepatitis C while stealing their pain medications during surgery has pleaded guilty to charges of assault and theft.

Jon Dale Jones, a retired Army captain, entered his plea Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors say Jones infected at least 15 military patients in 2004 when he diverted fentanyl — a powerful painkiller routinely used for anesthesia — from the patients to himself.

He could face up to 20 years when he sentenced in August"

Anadys Pharmaceuticals to Present at the CanAccord Adams Hepatitis C Conference - FOXBusiness.com

"SAN DIEGO, March 31, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDS) announced today that it will present at the CanAccord Adams Hepatitis C Conference on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. EDT (11:00 a.m. PDT). The conference is being held at the InterContinental The Barclay Hotel in New York City.

Steve Worland, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Anadys, will provide an overview of Anadys and its clinical programs in development for hepatitis C: ANA598 and ANA773."

China Reports Hepatitis Infections From Hospital - NYTimes.com

"BEIJING — At least 64 people have been infected with hepatitis C after receiving transfusions of tainted blood at a county hospital in southern China, a hospital official said Wednesday.

The authorities at the Guizhou Province hospital traced the infections to contaminated blood from a single donor who had sold blood to the facility from 1998 to 2002. The police have detained the hospital’s former chief on suspicion of illegally collecting and using the blood, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency."

New Action Plan To Reduce Hepatitis In Wales

"A new action plan to identify people at risk of blood borne viral hepatitis and to improve care for people living with the infection has been issued for public consultation by the Welsh Assembly Government today.

Hepatitis B and C are viruses that spread from person to person by contact with infected blood and mainly affect the liver."