Hep B Blog

Monthly Archives: January 2012

Hepatitis B Diagnosis & Monitoring, Liver Cancer

Statins May Prevent Liver Cancer For Those With HBV

Good news for those with chronic hepatitis B that are taking cholesterol-lowering statins.  Results published in Jan. 23 Journal of Clinical Oncology show statins may actually lower the risk of liver cancer for those living with chronic HBV in a dose dependent manner. The study monitored 33,413 hepatitis B patients for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) between 1997 and 2008 and tracked the number of HCC cases since 1999.

These are important findings because chronic hepatitis B significantly increases the risk of liver cancer, which causes 80% of primary liver cancers (HCC) worldwide. In the U.S., HCC is the second deadliest cancer with a five year survival rate of less than 10%. Those with chronic HBV are 100 times more likely to develop liver cancer than those without HBV. There are a number of contributing risk factors such as age, gender, ethnic background, family history, smoking history, and extent of liver damage. Despite the known risks, it is impossible to predict without regular liver cancer screening.  Be sure to discuss the guidelines for liver cancer screening with your doctor, as there are specific risk factors that may make monitoring sooner and more frequent, important.  Make liver cancer screening part of your bi-annual or annual monitoring of your HBV and liver health.

So, how do statins reduce the risk of liver cancer for those with Chronic HBV?  The mechanism has not been determined and will require further study.  Statins may reduce the risk of HCC, but it is important to carefully discuss the use of statins with your liver specialist and other treating physicians. Monitoring of your liver enzymes while taking statins is important for those without HBV, but it is even more critical if you have HBV.  Start with a baseline of your liver enzymes (ALT/AST) before beginning statin use, followed by testing at 6 and 12 week intervals.  You want to ensure your ALT/AST levels do not increase by more than three times the upper limits of normal.  Any spikes in your ALT/AST levels will likely occur in the first three months of statin use.  Elevated levels may require a discontinuation of one statin and a simple switch to another.  With the help of your treating physician(s) you will determine what is best for your unique situation to ensure the benefits of statin use outweigh the risks.

And if you are taking a daily statin, don’t forget the importance of eating a well-balanced diet. Sitting down to a big-ole cowboy steak with your statin is probably not what the doctor had in mind when he prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication!

Hepatitis B Diagnosis & Monitoring, Hepatitis B Prevention

Join the Fun! We’d Love Your Help!

There’s a contest going on and we’d love your help! Facebook is having a little competition to see who can get the most “likes” on their facebook page.  The Hepatitis B Foundation wants to help jump-start Hep B Free Philadelphia’s Facebook page, and help them win “facebook Ad cash” in the process.  What will Hep B Free Philly do with those Facebook  Ad dollars? Well, Hep B Free Philly will use those Ad dollars to possibly raise donations, but perhaps more importantly, it’s another way to use one of our favorite social media channels to help promote hepatitis B awareness.

Here’s what you need to do….

  • Visit Hep B Free Philadelphia’s Facebook page and like their page. The like button is at the top of the page.
  • That’s it!  If you really want to help Hep B Free Philly win, ask your friends or family to “like” the page.  It’s that simple!
  • Use the little “Facebook share button” at the top of this blog to share it with your facebook friends!
  • This little competition ends March 31, 2012, so please don’t delay!

While you’re there, feel free to check out the page and see what Hep B Free Philadelphia’s community-owned public health campaign is doing in Philadelphia to educate and raise public awareness, along with increasing testing and vaccination in the fight against hepatitis B and liver cancer.  You can also check out Hep B Free Philly’s website! They’ve got a lot of great activities going on!

Finally, the Hepatitis B Foundation also joined the competition. At this time our facebook page has 684 “likes” of our page! We’d like to win some of those free Facebook Ad dollars and see how we can use them to  raise HBV global awareness.  So, if you haven’t already, be sure to “like” HBF’s Facebook page!

Thanks!

Hepatitis B Advocacy

Hepatitis Health Action Alert: Stop the Attacks on Prevention and Public Health Fund

Action Alert! The Hepatitis Community Responds to Health Care Reform. Tell Congress Not To Cut The Prevention and Public Health Fund

The Prevention and Public Health Fund is under attack in Congress once again. Some leaders in the House of Representatives would like to make drastic cuts to the Fund as part of negotiations on a long-term deal on the payroll tax cut and Medicare payments rates to medical providers.

The Prevention and Public Health Fund, part of the Affordable Care Act, provides money each year for vital prevention and public health services. The fund will grow each year until it eventually provides $2 billion/year.

This fund is extremely important to the nation’s fight against the viral hepatitis epidemic. Later this year, the Department of Health and Human Services is expected to allocate $10 million from the Fund for viral hepatitis screening, testing, and education programs. This initiative will greatly help efforts to identify the millions of Americans who have chronic hepatitis B or C and link them to care and treatment.

Please take a few minutes to call Congress in support of this lifesaving program!

What YOU can DO:

Please call your U.S. House Representative and two U.S. Senators immediately. We are hearing directly from Congressional staff that phone calls are the most effective form of communication. 

Call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 1-888-876-6242 and ask to be connected to your United States Representative. When you reach your Representative’s office, tell whoever answers the phone that you are a constituent and that you would like to speak to the staff person who handles health care issues. Whether you speak to the staff person live or leave a voicemail, tell him/her:

“My name is _______________ and I live in (city/state). I am calling in strong support of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which is an important part of the Affordable Care Act. This Fund is a great opportunity to provide badly needed funding for viral hepatitis prevention, testing, and screening programs and must be preserved. I urge Representative_____________ to oppose any efforts to cut the Fund as part of the payroll tax/Medicare physician reimbursement negotiations.”

After you speak to your Representative’s office, call the Capitol Switchboard again and deliver the same message to the health care staff person in your two U.S. Senators’ office.

Thank you for taking the time to make a difference! Please spread the word.

Get involved with Hepatitis Health Action!

  • Join Hepatitis Health Action’s Facebook group:  http://tinyurl.com/hephealthfacebook where you can participate in discussions with other advocates and share your ideas and strategies.

Hepatitis Health Action is a campaign led by viral hepatitis advocates working to make sure that health care reform addresses hepatitis B and C.

Living with Hepatitis B

HBV Employee Screening By Suppliers of Your Favorite Apple Gadgets -Tip of the Iceberg, But Commendable

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Apple recently revealed a list of its suppliers of the iphone, ipad and other gadgets, and the labor, health and health and environmental violations against some of the offenders. Most of these violations were out of Taiwan and China.  Included in the list of violations was the screening of employees for hepatitis B. What will this disclosure mean to those living with hepatitis B in China and around the world?  Apple has responded to each of the violations that were uncovered and says it will end relationships with repeat offenders. Will this stop discrimination against those living with HBV? Probably not, but it may stir-the-pot, encouraging other corporations to do the same.  Apple has star power, and the ability to make waves due to their success and reputation.  However, it is likely that foreign suppliers will circumvent the system and continue screening its employees or prospective employees for hepatitis B.

The question is how a job making gadgets, or components for gadgets, for Apple or any other company could possibly pose a reasonable risk of HBV exposure to any factory employee?  Hepatitis B is not transmitted casually. It is not transmitted by sneezing, coughing, shaking hands, sharing a meal, or working side-by-side with someone on the factory floor or sharing an office with someone who has hepatitis B.  HBV is transmitted through  blood and infected body fluids through blood to blood contact, unprotected sex, unsterilized needles and from an HBV infected mother to her newborn during delivery.

Every day the Hepatitis B Foundation responds to inquiries from people around the globe. Due to the stigma associated with HBV, chronic carriers may be denied employment due only to their HBsAg positive status.  There are special circumstances where exposure prone procedures may put others at risk due to an HBV infection. This would be limited to health care positions that involve invasive procedures such as gynecologic, cardio-thoracic or surgical procedures that might put a patient at risk. These risk-prone occupations do not include – other health care positions, jobs in the food industry, the retail industry, being in an office, in a factory, on cruise line, or any number of ordinary jobs. A positive HBsAg test should not prohibit employment, or entering and working in another country.

There will always be discrimination in our world. Even with laws that protect employees in the U.S. there are ways to circumvent the system and quietly discriminate. In many countries where HBV is prevalent, discrimination is blatant.  And of course HBV screening is merely the tip of the iceberg with the violations and deplorable working conditions in countries like China. Eyes wide-open can be a little disconcerting for those of us with our favorite gadgets. Apple’s disclosure of these violations is commendable and a start in the right direction.  Hopefully other companies will step-up and follow their lead.

Hepatitis B Diagnosis & Monitoring, Living with Hepatitis B

China Approves Hepatitis E Vaccine – What that means if you have HBV

It was an interesting couple of weeks for viral hepatitis vaccines.  A potential vaccine for Hepatitis C appears to be on the horizon, and China announced it has approved a vaccine for use for hepatitis E virus (HEV).

What does this mean if you have hepatitis B?  I’m not sure. If you are living with HBV, it is clear that it is best to avoid coinfection with another hepatitis virus or infectious agent.  Coinfection will likely hasten liver disease progression and increase the risk for liver cancer.  At this time, the hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for those who are infected with HBV in order to avoid additional stress to the liver. Please keep in mind that the mode of transmission is the same for HBV and HCV, but is different for HAV and HEV.  It’s important to keep your viral hepatitis ABC’s straight!

Hepatitis E is a self-limiting disease, which is shed in the feces and transmitted via contaminated water and food – very much like HAV.  Although HEV is an acute infection like hepatitis A (HAV), it has about a 3% overall mortality rate and a much higher rate among pregnant women, and solid organ transplant recipients. It predominantly affects those between the ages of 15 and 40 years. HEV is endemic in Central and South-East Asia,  North and West Africa, Mexico and developing nations where there may not be access to clean water and proper sanitation and hygiene.  At this time, it is not prevalent in the U.S., but we are a traveling nation, and it’s something to think about when traveling abroad.

The HEV vaccine, developed by Xiamen University and Xiamen Innovax Biotech Co. Ltd. is a three-shot series : shot one followed one month later by shot 2, followed by shot 3 six-months after the third shot. The phase III trial results were found to be well tolerated and safe for the general adult population.  This would make the HEV vaccine a good choice for travelers in endemic areas who can receive adequate protection with a 2-shot series in one month.

However, these results for the phase III study were for the general population only and did not include children, adults over 65 years, pregnant women and those living with chronic liver diseases such as HBV or HCV.  If you are infected with HBV, it would make sense to be vaccinated against a virus that can cause additional harm to the liver, but at this time, additional research needs to be done ensuring the vaccine will benefit those living with hepatitis B or C.

Living with Hepatitis B

Sheree Martin Retires from the Hepatitis B Information and Support List

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After 13 Years, our Mammablondie has retired as a listowner of the Hepatitis B Information and Support List.  Sheree Martin has been List Mom to thousands of hepBers who have come to us from all over the world.  Like a true mother, she was quick to give hugs, the cyber kind, just when we needed them most.  And when we squabbled, she was there to call “time out”.

As for the “information” component of our list, Sheree has contributed more than anyone else.  She has spent countless hours scanning the Internet daily for HBV research and news.  The result of her efforts is our Hepatitis B Research List. For those wishing for information only, you can select send a blank email to HBV_Research-on@mail-list.com

For a number of years the PKIDS organization hired her to do the same thing for them, provide them with daily bulletins about kids’ infectious diseases. Sheree donated the money she earned to our listserv in order to cover miscellaneous  expenses.

In the beginning days of the List, John Kirk and I recognized immediately what a gem Sheree was, and we invited her to join us as a third listowner. She was smart, she was a nurse, she had IT skills, she was a good writer, and she knew how to referee when the two male egos would wrestle.

Sheree lives in the same small town where she grew up, on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains.  She’s proud of what she calls her hillbilly roots.

We all got to know and love Sheree’s mother, Yvonne, when she accompanied Sheree to the Hepatitis B Foundation’s patient conferences.  Not only did Yvonne have HBV, but in 1999, Sheree’s only sibling, Mike, died of liver cancer associated with HBV.  Fighting HBV was a very personal battle for Sheree.

We’ll need two people to fill Sheree’s shoes on the List.  Yvonne Drazic (Australia) will be our new listowner, and Christine Kukka (Maine) will take over the Research List.

At home in that picturesque country village, Sheree will have more time to do what she loves most–  being a mother to her 3 sons, 2 grandsons, 2 dachshunds, and 1 beagle.

We won’t lose our List Mom completely.  “I’ll still be around,” Sheree promises.  I’ll be lurking in the wings.”

A big hug to Sheree,

Steve Bingham, Retired List Dad

If you or someone you know is living with hepatitis B, we encourage you to join this HBV online forum filled with information, support and compassion!

Baruch S. Blumberg Institute