Latino Organization for Liver Awareness (LOLA) Supports Statement From The National Institutes of Health on Hepatitis C

New Recommendations Encourage Earlier Diagnosis, Treatment for Broader Range of Latino Patients

Bronx, New York - June 12, 2002 - The Latino Organization for Liver Awareness (LOLA) expressed its support today for the statement on hepatitis C issued by a consensus panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The statement, developed by an independent panel of the nation's leading hepatitis C experts, reaffirms that hepatitis C is a serious public health concern, and encourages screening. The panel concluded also that the most effective treatment and new standard of care for chronic hepatitis C is combination therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

"We are very pleased with these recommendations and what they mean for Latinos who are at risk or living with hepatitis C," said Debbie Delgado-Vega, executive director and founder of LOLA and a liver transplant recipient. "Hepatitis C affects one in every 50 Hispanics in the United States and that incidence is expected to double in the next 25 years as the population grows. We are very hopeful that these new recommendations will lead to increased awareness about the disease, and encourage more Latinos to get tested and treated earlier."

Latinos have more than a 40 percent greater chance of being infected with hepatitis C than the general population the United States.

The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on Management Hepatitis C is the second in five years, and was convened based on the dramatic increase in knowledge about hepatitis C, and the need to reevaluate approaches to management and treatment. Specific to screening and treatment of hepatitis C, the panel provided recommendations on which hepatitis C patients should be treated, broadening the treatment population, as well as recommendations to patients on how to prevent transmission of the virus. It concluded that all patients with chronic hepatitis C are potential candidates for treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavarin combination therapy, including those who did not respond to previous treatments.

To access the full consensus statement issued by the NIH, visit http://www.consensus.nih.gov

The Latino Organization for Liver Awareness (LOLA) is the first national, not-for-profit, bilingual/bicultural organization dedicated to raising awareness, prevention, education and treatment referral services to the Latino-American communities about liver diseases and organ and tissue donations