The State Department of Public Health is launching a new coalition to eliminate cases of hepatitis in Illinois.
Spokesperson Mike Claffey says the group is backed by a federal grant and will come up with strategies to address the rising number of hepatitis “B” and “C” cases.
“This is clinicians, academic researchers and our community partners. We want to prevent people from getting and stop people from spreading hepatitis.”
Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer. According to the Illinois latest date, in 2020 there were 388 confirmed cases of Hep-B and nearly 2900 cases of Hep-C. Claffey says many infections go undiagnosed.
