The National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan 2017-2020 has been
posted and is ready to share. This Action Plan is the nation's roadmap for
addressing viral hepatitis in the United States.
Developed collaboratively by 23 federal partners from the U.S.
Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development,
Justice, and Veterans Affairs with input from nonfederal stakeholders from a
variety of sectors, the Action Plan recognizes that success cannot be achieved
by federal action alone. The support and commitment of a broad mix of
stakeholders from various sectors, both public and private is needed to achieve
our national goals.
Click here to view
and download the Action Plan.
National Academies Hepatitis B & C Elimination Report
On March 28, 2017, the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine will release a final report on the elimination of
hepatitis B and C as a public health concern in the United States. The report
will be available at 11:00 a.m. Eastern on the National
Academies website.
The National Academies is also hosting a launch event for the media and the
public on March 28, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC. Those not able to attend may listen to the event via webinar.
Register
now to attend the event in person or via webinar. Seating for the
in-person event is limited.
Highlights from CROI 2017
The annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic
Infections (CROI) was held in Seattle from February 13 to 16 this year.
The conference brought together researchers from around the world to share the
latest studies, developments and research methods in HIV/AIDS and related
infectious diseases. This year many hepatitis related topics were presented by
researchers. Click the links below to read about some of the highlights:
Hepatitis C Transmission Among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)
http://www.croiconference.org/sessions/high-prevalence-hepatitis-c-virus-among-hiv-negative-msm-amsterdam-prep-project
http://www.croiconference.org/sessions/unrestricted-daa-access-netherlands-rapid-therapy-uptake-hivhcv-patients
Hepatitis C-Associated Diseases
http://www.croiconference.org/sites/default/files/posters-2017/354_Mastrorosa.pdf
http://www.croiconference.org/sites/default/files/posters-2017/542LB_Menzaghi.pdf
Cure Rates among Persons Who Inject Drugs (PWID) and Other
Groups
http://www.croiconference.org/sessions/hcv-treatment-people-who-inject-drugs-colocated-within-needle-and-syringe-program
http://www.croiconference.org/sites/default/files/posters-2017/534_Berenguer.pdf
Treatment Benefits
http://www.croiconference.org/sites/default/files/posters-2017/575_Biliotti.pdf
https://www.hepmag.com/article/treatment-soon-nearly-eradicate-hep-c-among-french-people-hiv
Hepatitis C Testing Low Among Baby Boomers
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), an estimated 3.2 million people are living with chronic hepatitis C
virus (HCV). Seventy-five percent of those infected were born between
1945 and 1965, also known as baby boomers. Because of the high prevalence
of HCV among baby boomers, CDC and the United States Preventive Services Task
Force recommend that all adults in the birth cohort receive
one-time testing for HCV. Despite this recommendation, most baby boomers
have not been tested, according to researchers from the American Cancer
Society.
Researchers used data from the 2013 and 2015
National Health Interview Survey, including responses
from 23,967 baby boomers. Findings from the study revealed that only
13.8% of all baby boomers had been tested for hepatitis C in 2015, a
slight increase from 12.3% in 2013. Of the 76.2 million estimated baby
boomers in 2015, only 10.5 million received hepatitis C testing. Testing was
the lowest among those with private insurance.
Click here
to see the full study.
WHO Guidelines on Hepatitis B and C Testing
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published first
guidelines on testing for chronic hepatitis B and C infection. The
guidelines complement other published guidance by WHO on prevention, care
and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C infection. These
guidelines outline the public health approach to strengthening and expanding
current testing practices for hepatitis B and C, and are intended for use
across age groups and populations.
To view this publication and other hepatitis related
publications by WHO, click here.
Hepatitis B Foundation: Storytelling Campaign
In January, the Hepatitis B Foundation officially launched their
new storytelling campaign, #justB.
The national storybank includes people affected by hepatitis B who are
sharing their stories to put a human face on this serious disease, decrease
stigma and discrimination, and promote the importance of testing and treatment
for hepatitis B. A new story will be featured each month throughout 2017.
Watch the March story about Theobald Owusu-Ansah, president of
the Hepatitis Foundation of Ghana and a person infected with the hepatitis B
virus: Theobald's
Story.
Click here to visit
the Hepatitis B Foundation website.
CDC Campaign Materials
CDC has “Know More Hepatitis” and “Know Hepatitis B”
campaign materials available for free. Available materials include posters,
infographics, buttons and badges, radio ads and scripts and email
signatures. Click the links below to visit the websites.
Know More
Hepatitis
Know Hepatitis B
Updated Algorithm on Recommended Testing/Follow-up for
Healthcare Personnel Potentially Exposed to HCV
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated
the testing algorithm, previously released in 2001, for healthcare personnel
who have been potentially exposed to hepatitis C virus (HCV). This notice is
based on current laboratory guidance as of November 2016.
Click here
to view or print the new testing recommendations.
HCV Advocate website
Hcvadvocate.org is a website supported by the Hepatitis C
Support Project and includes many free resources for anyone to
utilize. The website has links to fact sheets and news articles and
educational materials. Check out the website by clicking here.
Immunization Action Coalition (IAC)
The IAC has many free handouts and facts sheets about hepatitis
and many are available in multiple languages. Check out their website at http://www.immunize.org/.
A few handouts that are available…
o Hepatitis B Facts: Testing and Vaccination
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2110.pdf
o If you, your parents, or your children were
born in any of these place
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4170.pdf
o Hepatitis B information for Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4190.pdf
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