Life in the twentieth century is like a parachute jump: you have to get it right the first time. ~ Margaret Mead

More Americans die from hepatitis C virus infection than from HIV. This milestone was reached largely unnoticed and unreported in 2007, and since then, hepatitis C-related deaths continue to escalate. Along with increasing mortality, hepatitis C is taking its toll on our health and healthcare system.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3.2 million Americans are chronically infected with hepatitis C, a virus which slowly but steadily attacks the liver. Some experts believe that the number of people with hepatitis C is closer to 5 million, because the CDC’s estimate did not include many high-risk populations. Regardless, we all agree on one thing--there is a huge problem.

We may not have gotten this right in the twentieth century, but we do have a second chance and the opportunity to get this right in the twenty-first.