World Hepatitis Day

The World Health Organization has designated July 28th as World Hepatitis Day. However, we don’t have to look globally to find a crisis related to hepatitis B infection.

Data from the Arizona Department of Health Services indicate that Asian Americans have constituted 40% of all reported cases of chronic hepatitis B in Maricopa County over the past five years. Considering that Asian Americans constitute only 3% of the population, this is alarming.

Nationally, it is estimated that 1 in 12 Asian Americans is permanently infected with hepatitis B, a virus that attacks the liver. For all other Americans, the rate of chronic hepatitis B infection is just 1 in 1,000. Without medical monitoring and treatment, 25% of individuals with chronic hepatitis B infection will suffer and possibly die due to severe liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 65% of all individuals infected with hepatitis B are unaware of their infection.

These data suggest that nationally there are more Asian Americans undiagnosed with hepatitis B than all Americans undiagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Compared to HIV/AIDS, very little attention is paid to the problem of chronic hepatitis B – particularly among Asian Americans. This is a shame given that a simple blood test can detect the infection and a vaccine exists to prevent infection. We need to continue to spread the word that all Asian Americans get tested and vaccinated for hepatitis B.

In recognition of World Hepatitis Day, we are hosting a free hepatitis B testing and education event at the Vietnamese Community Center, 2051 W. Warner Road, Suite 22, Chandler, from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday, July 30th. Information will also be provided to help individuals without health insurance coverage to enroll in publicly funded health insurance programs or otherwise find affordable medical care. Further information is available from the Asian Pacific Community in Action at (602) 265-4598 or www.apcaaz.org.

Healthy People 2020: Where’s Hepatitis B Screening?

The federal government has just released the latest incarnation of our national health objectives: Healthy People 2020. As a nation, we’ve been systematically identifying our health goals since 1980, with the publication of a document known as “Health Objectives for the Nation.” Healthy People 2000 and Healthy People 2010 are successors to the original document. This time around, let’s hope that more progress can be made to reduce the health disparities between groups in this nation.

I did notice that the objectives relating to hepatitis B do not reference a stated interest in identifying individuals already infected and referring them into care and treatment. This is disappointing given that there are far more individuals in the United States unknowingly infected with HBV than HIV. Indeed, there are objectives relating to increasing screening for HIV and for hepatitis C, but not hepatitis B.

If this is an oversight, it is a big one. CDC has already passed over addressing viral hepatitis as a “winnable battle.” Those of us working on issues around hepatitis B among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders would seem to be doing so without leadership in this area from our federal government. Be that as it may, we must stay the course and redouble our efforts.

-Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director