the birthday of Dr. Baruch Blumberg (1925-2011), who discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967 and two years later developed the first hepatitis B vaccine. Worldwide, viral hepatitis is among the top 10 infectious disease killers with more than one million people dying each year. Many of those who are chronically infected are unaware of their infection. And if you were born between 1945-1965, the CDC recommends you get a blood test for hepatitis C.