As 2017 comes to a close, we would like to personally thank all our federal and community partners that have helped to advance our national efforts in the battle against viral hepatitis.
Although much has been accomplished this year, we are still losing ground. The opioid epidemic is fueling increases in hepatitis B and C, and a growing number of infants are now at risk. More than 4 million Americans from all walks of life are already infected, but just over half of them know they have the virus, and hepatitis-related deaths are at near record levels.
Fortunately, scientific advances in prevention and treatment and expansion of health care access make it possible to win the fight against viral hepatitis and save lives. By leveraging all of these and other tools throughout the year, our federal and community partners have helped diagnose more people and link them to care, prevent new viral hepatitis infections, and reduce deaths.
To support these efforts, we continue to share valuable information via our digital channels that is aligned with our national viral hepatitis goals. From launching the National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan, learning about hepatitis A outbreaks, updating hepatitis B vaccination recommendations, and more, our blog posts received over 20,000 page views between January 1, 2017 and December 27, 2017. In addition, our @HHS_ViralHep Twitter account received over 283,000 impressions since January 1, 2017. Below you’ll find our top ten most read blog posts and top five most viewed tweets for the year. Did your favorite post make the list? Let us know on Twitter!
As we look forward to another year, we hope to continue educating our stakeholders about the impact of viral hepatitis, opportunities, and program gaps, and continue to broaden the Action Plan’s reach.
