Hepatitis C Proclaimed As the Deadliest Disease in the US Today, Study Says

Hepatitis C-related deaths have literally hit the roof as it becomes the number deadliest infectious disease in the United States today.

The deadly disease overtakes the total number deaths combined from dozens of other infectious diseases like HIV-AIDS, pneumonia, and tuberculosis with 19,659 cases of mortality in 2014 alone.

This new rising trend seemed to have shocked the country's medical establishment. About 3.5 million Americans are reportedly living with the infection and more than 50% of them are unaware that they have it.

"Not everyone is getting tested and diagnosed, people don't get referred to care as fully as they should, and then they are not being placed on treatment," said CDC director of viral hepatitis Dr. John Ward as quoted by CNN.

Ignorance of the infection is making the situation worse. Also, the baby boomers were found to have highest incidence of Hepatitis C infection. Most of the people in this generation got infection after World War II when medical procedures involving blood transfusions were less safe than they were in today's standard. In 2013, more than half of deaths attributed to Hepatitis C occurred among the 55-64 age bracket.

"[At that time] the virus that causes hepatitis C was not yet discovered, so blood banks were not screening the blood supply for hepatitis C and many people got infected that way. Also, health care systems were not as diligent in practicing good infection control as they are today," Ward father said as mentioned by CBS News.

CDC also noted that the younger generation is also vulnerable to Hepatitis C infection especially those who are hooked to using injectable drugs like heroin with cases posting a twofold increase from 2010 to 2014.

Meanwhile, present medications were found to be highly effective in majority of cases according to Health Magazine. The question looming on everyone's mind is why many Americans are still dying from this largely preventable disease?

Apart from being unaware of the infection, the cost of the three-month supply of drugs (enough to kill the infection), will cause a dent in the wallet with cost reportedly around $80,000 to $120,000.