19 de maio – Declarado o DIA NACIONAL DAS HEPATITES VIRAIS
O diretor de Hepatites Virais do Departamento de saúde dos Estados Unidos divulgou hoje o Oficio abaixo transcrito na sua integra, onde coloca em destaque que o mês de maio foi designado como o mês da consciência nos Estados Unidos e, que, passará a ser um dia de testes em todo o país nos próximos anos. O 19 de maio passa a ser reconhecido como o DIA NACIONAL DAS HEPATITES VIRAIS.
O esforço do movimento de maio obteve o reconhecimento da Organização Mundial da Saúde para que decrete um dia Mundial, o qual por problemas de data foi o 28 de julho, com a ressalva expressa que cada país é livre e soberano para realizar as ações em outras datas, da sua conveniencia local.
Também fico pessoalmente satisfeito pelo fato que os Estados Unidos reconstituem a verdade histórica do movimento, desacreditando a informação constante na página Web da WORLD HEPATITIS ALLIANCE onde eles se creditam o mérito de terem criado o 19 de maio em 2009.
Agradecemos o reconhecimento do governo dos Estados Unidos ao movimento das associações de pacientes e da sociedade civil que durante os últimos 10 anos realizam atividades de alerta e divulgação no mês de maio. Agora juntos, a partir de 2012 governos e sociedade civil passaram a realizar ações de visibilidade mundial no mês de maio.
Texto do Dr. John W. Ward - Director - Division of Viral Hepatitis – CDC:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
CDC – Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
2011/05/23
Dear Colleagues,
The month of May has been designated Hepatitis Awareness Month in the United States, and May 19th will be recognized as National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day in years to come. During May, CDC and its public health partners shed light on the silent epidemic of viral hepatitis by raising awareness of these life-threatening infections. These efforts are being echoed around the world, with the World Health Assembly’s recognition of July 28th as World Hepatitis Day. Each of these observances provides opportunity to educate health-care providers and the communites they serve about the large but under-recognized burden of viral hepatitis in the United States and globally.
Over the past several years, the groundwork has been laid for substantial U.S. policy development around viral hepatitis, including a hearing to brief Congress on the importance of viral hepatitis prevention and the substantial burden of these infections, particularly among vulnerable populations. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report titled, Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: a National Strategy for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis B and C, in which the Institute identifies viral hepatitis as an underappreciated health concern for the nation, outlines multiple barriers impeding efforts to prevent viral hepatitis transmission and disease, and provides the federal government with recommendations for better addressing this public health threat. Building upon this momentum, the health advocacy organization Trust for America’s Health (TIFA) issued a 2010 report urging policymakers to transform the way the nation addresses viral hepatitis.
In response to this call to action, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) convened an interagency working group tasked with developing an action plan for the prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis in the United States. This plan, titled, Combating the Silent Epidemic: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Action Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis, sets forth strategies and actions to be undertaken by HHS, other federal agencies, and partnering organizations to achieve national viral hepatitis goals, particularly in the areas of education; testing, care, and treatment; surveillance; vaccination; and prevention among persons in high-risk groups (e.g., injecting-drug users, health-care workers, and persons receiving care in health-care settings). May 12, 2011 marked the release of the plan.
I thank each of you for your hard work and commitment to viral hepatitis prevention and control. Combating viral hepatitis takes collective action, necessitating federal efforts as well as those undertaken at the state and community levels. Only together can we bring to light this epidemic and take critical, concrete steps towards preventing viral hepatitis infection and improving the health of millions of infected Americans.
Sincerely,
John W. Ward, M.D.
Director Division of Viral Hepatitis
Carlos Varaldo
