|
New Viral Hepatitis Epidemiologists
The ISDH Epidemiology Resource Center (ERC) is pleased to welcome Lindsey Lazo, Hepatitis C Epidemiologist. She graduated this past May with a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in epidemiology from the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health. Prior to this position, Lindsey was a Research Assistant at the Indiana Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Network through the IU School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine. Lindsey’s responsibilities will include hepatitis C surveillance, data requests, 2016 Viral Hepatitis Epidemiological Profile, and assistance with current efforts taking place on the viral hepatitis team. For any questions, please contact Lindsey at 317.233.9903 or llazo@isdh.in.gov.
The ERC is also pleased to welcome Cari Tsinovoi, Viral Hepatitis (VH) Informatics Epidemiologist. Cari received her doctorate in biological anthropology in 2014 and recently completed a 3-year postdoctoral fellowship in epidemiology at the Indiana University School of Public Health in Bloomington. Cari’s grant-funded position will focus on strengthening surveillance in jurisdictions with high incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections. Cari can be reached at 317.233.9987 or ctsinovoi@isdh.in.gov.
World Hepatitis Day is recognized every year on July 28th. This day is also the birthday of Dr. Baruch Blumberg (1925-2011), who discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967 and developed the hepatitis B vaccine in 1969.
Viral Hepatitis can be caused by hepatitis A, B, C, D or E. It is found all over the globe and can affect any population. Viral Hepatitis is one of the leading causes of death globally, accounting for more than 1 million deaths per year.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 257 million people are living with hepatitis B virus infection and 71 million are living with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Up to 90% of those living with viral hepatitis are unaware of their infection status.
Organizations can use World Hepatitis Day as an opportunity to raise awareness among the public about the seriousness of viral hepatitis. If you would like to participate in World Hepatitis Day, visit the CDC or World Hepatitis Day websites by clicking the links below.
http://worldhepatitisday.org/en/campaign-materials
https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/worldhepdayresources.htm#refs
The 2015 Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report is now available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of Viral Hepatitis website. Highlights from the report include the following.
The number of reported cases
of hepatitis A increased 12.2% to 1,390 cases in 2015. After adjusting for
under-ascertainment and under-reporting, the estimated number of new HAV
infections in 2015 was 2,800.
The number of reported cases
of acute hepatitis B increased 20.7% to 3,370 cases in 2015. After adjusting
for under-ascertainment and under-reporting, the estimated number of new HBV
infections in 2015 was 21,900. In addition to acute cases of hepatitis B,
chronic HBV infection remains a major public health challenge. CDC, using most
recent national prevalence data, estimates that approximately 850,000 persons
are living with HBV in the U.S., although other studies have estimated this
number to be as high as 2.2 million.
The
number of reported acute hepatitis C cases was 2,436 in 2015. This represents a
more than 2.9-fold increase in cases from 2010 through 2015. The increase in
acute HCV case reports reflects new infections associated with rising rates of
injection-drug use, and, to a much lesser extent, improved case detection.
After adjusting for under-ascertainment and under-reporting, an estimated
33,900 new HCV infections occurred in 2015. Based on the data from national
health surveys conducted in the 2003-2010 time period, approximately 3.5
million persons are currently infected with HCV.
Click here to see the full report.
This summer marks the 32nd anniversary of the annual INShape Indiana Black and Minority Health Fair, held during Indiana's Black Expo's Summer Celebration on July 13-16, 2017 at the Indiana Convention Center, Exhibit Hall F.
For the first time, rapid hepatitis C testing will be offered along with rapid HIV testing. Testing will take place each day of the health fair, ending 1 hour prior to closing.
The health fair will also offer free health information, screenings and counseling and referrals for conditions that disproportionately affect minority communities. See the health fair hours below.
Thursday, July 13, 2017 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST
Friday, July, 14, 2017 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST
Saturday, July, 15, 2017 10:00 a. m. to 8:00 p.m. EST
Sunday, July, 16, 2017 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST
Curing Hepatitis C Among People of Color Living with HIV
A new notice of funding opportunity open
to all Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Parts A, B, C, and D funded recipients of record, Curing Hepatitis
C Among People of Color Living with HIV.
This multi-pronged initiative will support up to two recipients to improve
the prevention, care, treatment, and cure of hepatitis C (HCV) in areas
affected by HIV/HCV coinfection among low-income, underinsured, or uninsured
racial and ethnic minority populations.
Components
of the initiative will include:
- Expansion of HCV prevention (including education),
testing, care (including preventive health care), and treatment capacity
among RWHAP-funded clinics, HRSA and Medicare-certified Federally
Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and SAMHSA-funded community-based
substance use disorder (SUD) and behavioral health treatment providers that
predominantly serve people of color living with both HIV and HCV;
- Improved coordination of linkage to and retention in
care and treatment for people who are co-infected with HIV/HCV;
- Improved coordination with SAMHSA-funded SUD treatment
providers to expand the delivery of behavioral health and substance use
treatment support to achieve treatment completion and to prevent HCV
infection and re-infection; and
- Enhancement of health department surveillance systems
to increase their capacity to monitor acute and chronic coinfections of
HIV and HCV in areas affected by HIV/HCV coinfection among low-income,
underinsured, or uninsured racial and ethnic minority populations, and to
enable an HCV Data to Care capacity.
The full notice of funding opportunity can be found on
Grants.gov or by following this link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=290885
New OMH Funding
Opportunity Announcement
The Office of Minority Health
(OMH) at the United States Department of Health and Human Services announced
the availability of Fiscal Year 2017 cooperative agreement funds for the
Empowered Communities for a Healthier Nation Initiative. The Empowered
Communities for a Healthier Nation Initiative seeks to reduce significant
health disparities impacting racial and ethnic minorities and/or disadvantaged
populations through implementing evidence-based strategies with the greatest
potential for impact.
The program is
intended to serve residents in communities disproportionately impacted by the
opioid epidemic; childhood/adolescent obesity; and serious mental illness.
Estimated Funding Level: $5 million per one-year budget period, for a project period of three years
Click here for more information.
Indiana Health Data
Local health officials and residents can now assess the health
of their counties through Stats Explorer.
Visitors to the Stats Explorer website can find information
about the prevalence of drug overdoses, sexually transmitted diseases, births
and deaths, cancer, infectious diseases and many other health issues, all in
one convenient location. Previously, the data were available through multiple
pages on the ISDH website.
Diseases and conditions provided in Stats Explorer can be viewed
as counts or rates for various time periods. Data can be displayed in a variety
of formats, including charts and maps, with the click of a button.
To use Stats Explorer, go to https://gis.in.gov/apps/isdh/statsexplorer.
From the drop-down menu, select one of many different public health categories
to find detailed data published by ISDH and other partners.
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
HepVu
HepVu is an interactive online resource that offers a
first-of-its-kind picture of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic across the
country. HepVu will present the first standardized U.S. state-level
estimates of Hepatitis C prevalence generated by Emory University’s Coalition
for Applied Modeling for Prevention (CAMP) through a project supported by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Check out the website by clicking here.
HepCure Toolkit
The HepCure Toolkit is a free online support resource for
hepatitis C providers and patients. The toolkit is comprised of three different
components: a weekly tele-education webinar series, provider dashboard, and a
patient app.
The Tele-Education Webinar Series is held every Tuesday from
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM EST and features many topics in hepatitis C. Continuing
education credits (CME/CNE) are offered through attendance of the
webinars. All of the webinars are archived for playback or download on
HepCure's Tumblr page.
For further details, click here.
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 places…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
|
