Hep B Blog

Monthly Archives: April 2021

About Hepatitis B, HBV, Hepatitis B Awareness, Hepatitis B Prevention

April 30 is National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day

The Need for an Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day

 In 2019, the hepatitis B community successfully advocated for the introduction of U.S. House and Senate resolutions to designate April 30th as National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day for the first time! Two years later, the Hepatitis B Foundation is proud to support this day and continue adult vaccination efforts as we gear up for May, Hepatitis Awareness Month.

On April 30th we bring awareness to adult hepatitis B vaccination efforts. Despite a safe and effective hepatitis B vaccine, only 25% of the U.S. adult population has been vaccinated, primarily due to people being born before the vaccine was universally recommended.1 New hepatitis B infections are highest among people aged 30-49 years because many people at risk in this group have not been vaccinated in spite of federal recommendations.

Acute hepatitis B cases are rising partially due to the opioid epidemic with the increase in injection drug use. Hepatitis B can be spread through needle sharing or unsterile drug injection equipment. Additionally, hepatitis B can be transmitted from mother-to-child, and about 1,000 newborns become infected   each year in the U.S..2 This statistic is concerning because mother to child transmission can be prevented in most cases with appropriate use of the vaccine. When exposed to the hepatitis B virus at birth, 90% of newborns will develop chronic life-long infection, putting them at much greater risk for cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Immunization rates also remain low among vulnerable populations including those living with other chronic conditions such as hepatitis C, HIV, kidney disease, or diabetes. In fact, just 12% of diabetic adults 60 years old or older are fully vaccinated, and 26% of diabetic adults ages 19-59 have received the complete vaccine series. Healthcare workers are an under-vaccinated vulnerable population as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 60% of healthcare personnel have completed their vaccine series. Get yourself vaccinated for yourself and your loved ones!

How to Become Vaccinated for Hepatitis B

In the era of COVID, we are reminded how important vaccines are. Make sure you and your loved ones are vaccinated for hepatitis B. If you are not vaccinated, ask your doctor or healthcare provider for the hepatitis B vaccine. This safe and effective vaccine is given in 2 or 3 doses depending on the vaccine:

The three-dose vaccine (scheduled at 0, 1 and 6 months):

  1. The first dose is administered at any time (newborns should receive their first dose in the delivery room).
  2. The second dose is administered one month after the first dose.
  3. The third dose is administered 6 months after the first dose.

Sometimes committing to a 3-dose shot is hard. Luckily, there is an approved 2-dose hepatitis vaccine, Heplisav-B, for adults in theU.S..

The two-dose vaccine:

  1. The first dose is administered at any time.
  2. The second and final dose is administered one month after the first dose.

More information on the dosing schedule can be found here.

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You can show your support for National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccine Day by using the social media toolkit and hashtag #AdultHepBVaxDay on April 30th and when discussing the hepatitis B vaccine on social media! Graphics are also available to share throughout your networks.

Join the Hepatitis B Foundation and other leading hepatitis organizations for a Congressional Briefing on Thursday, April 29th at 3pm ET where a group of panelists will discuss how we can work towards achieving health equity by increasing adult hepatitis B vaccination rates.

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References

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/populations/idu.htm
  2. https://www.hhs.gov/hepatitis/learn-about-viral-hepatitis/hepatitis-b-basics/index.html

Author: Evangeline Wang

Contact Information: info@hepb.org

About Hepatitis B, HBV, Hepatitis B Awareness, Hepatitis B Diagnosis & Monitoring, Living with Hepatitis B

Hep B Community – A New Global Online Support Group

The Hepatitis B Foundation is excited to announce our support of a new global online community support group called Hep B Community. Thomas Tu, PhD, a researcher at Westmead Institute for Medical Research founded this online community to reach a global audience who might need support if they are affected by hepatitis B. 

Dr Tu stated that “While hepatitis B remains incurable, it can be managed and treated. But, people with hepatitis B face social stigma and discrimination, discouraging them from seeking medical help that could prevent progression of their illness to serious disease like liver cancer,”. He further explained that this online forum is important for people affected by hepatitis B to feel supported and empowered to take control of their diagnosis. 

Westmead Hospital’s Storr Liver Centre and the Hepatitis B Foundation have provided start-up funding and help coordinate the forum with support from the World Hepatitis Alliance. The site is peer-led, volunteer-run and is free to join. Already, more than 200 members from all over the world have joined.

Chari Cohen, DrPH, MPH, senior vice president, Hepatitis B Foundation, believes, “The new forum is critically important because people can anonymously seek advice about how to live with hepatitis B, and what they can do to protect their liver and long-term health.” If you are considering joining Hep B Community – do not hesitate! In fact, research has shown that people participating in hepatitis support groups can increase their knowledge, coping, and compliance.1 

How Does it Work?

The online forum has multiple sections like learning resources, media about hepatitis B, and general discussion. 

You can post completely anonymously and a hepatitis B expert or a person living with hepatitis B will respond to your questions. You can also choose your own username and the platform will never show your email, ensuring privacy and confidentiality. 

The hepatitis B experts responding to your questions go through a verification process to identify that they are trustworthy sources of information. These providers are clinicians, nurses, scientists or patient experts,  there to provide reliable answers and give information about health guidelines and treatment options. The forum also has researchers and scientists giving explanations and updates about technical information related to hepatitis B virus and treatment. 

The site is completely free! You can access the site even without making an account if you want to browse. However, in order to ask questions or post content, you will need to create an account. Empower yourself and join the other 200 users and immerse yourself in the supportive hepatitis B community!

Reference

  1. Jessop, Amy B. PhD, MPH; Cohen, Chari MPH; Burke, Monika M. RN; Conti, Molli BS; Black, Martin MD Hepatitis Support Groups, Gastroenterology Nursing: July 2004 – Volume 27 – Issue 4 – p 163-169 

Author: Evangeline Wang

Contact Information: info@hepb.org

About Hepatitis B, HBV, Hepatitis B Diagnosis & Monitoring, Hepatitis B Treatment, Living with Hepatitis B

How to Find a Hepatitis B Provider

How to Find a Hepatitis B Provider

If you have chronic hepatitis B or are newly diagnosed, it’s important to see a medical provider who has experience managing and treating hepatitis B.

Having a medical provider with hepatitis B expertise on your team not only safeguards your health but also lessens the stress of having a chronic liver disease. “My specialist gave me all the possible scenarios, but most importantly, he gave me my life back,” one hepatitis B patient recalled.

When first diagnosed, it’s often a primary health provider (PCP) or for children a pediatrician who orders diagnostic tests for hepatitis B. Doctors may run additional blood tests and/or immediately refer you to a liver specialist. If your PCP has experience managing and treating hepatitis B, you may decide to continue your hepatitis B care with that provider. Or, they may recommend a specialist who accepts your insurance or practices in the same healthcare system. But,  you may have to do some research to find the best specialist to treat your hepatitis B.

There are two types of specialists who treat liver diseases:

  • A gastroenterologist is an internist who has trained in digestive disorders including the liver, but how much liver expertise a gastroenterologist (GI doctor) has varies based on their training. It’s important to find out if they specialize in liver diseases and if they have experience with hepatitis B.
  • A hepatologist is a physician who specializes in the liver. This doctor has the most expertise and should be up-to-date about new treatments and clinical trials. But not all hepatologists have treated hepatitis B. Many will have treated hepatitis C, but not hepatitis B, so you need to ask.

Tips for finding a specialist:

  • Are they in the Hepatitis B Foundation directory? The Foundation has a Physician Directory of medical providers who treat hepatitis B around the world. These doctors have voluntarily signed up to be included in the database. It is not an exhaustive list, there may be hepatitis B specialists in your area who have not yet joined the directory.
  • Call the practice ahead of time and ask questions. How many hepatitis B patients have they treated? Do they participate in any clinical trials?  Are they aware of current monitoring and treatment guidelines for hepatitis B?
  • What’s the doctor’s reputation? Does anyone in your community see a liver specialist for viral hepatitis? Whom do they recommend?
  • Will you actually see the specialist or an assistant? Do you see a specialist only if there is a need for treatment? If you go to a teaching hospital, do you see the doctor or an intern, fellow or resident?

You are entering into a long-term relationship with someone who may care for you for many years. You need their expertise, but you also need to feel comfortable working with them. Do they listen when you speak and make eye contact? Trust and rapport are very critical.

“It’s really important that they don’t judge me,” one hepatitis B patient explained.  Another patient said that finding a doctor who spoke his language, or had an assistant who was fluent in his language, helped immensely.

Once you identify a specialist, here are some questions to ask:

  • Is the specialist accepting new patients? How long do you have to wait to get an appointment?
  • What hospital or lab do they use, and are they convenient for you? It’s important for you to always use the same lab so you have consistent results that allow apples-to-apples comparisons.
  • Will the doctor call you with the results or will a nurse or other assistants communicate with you?
  • What would you like your care plan to be? Will you go for blood tests and then see the specialist? Typically, hepatitis B patients get blood tests once or twice a year to monitor their liver, unless they are undergoing treatment.

How to design a long-distance care plan if the specialist is far away:  Sometimes, the best hepatitis B specialist is a few hours drive from where you live, but distance doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker. Many people see a specialist for a first visit, and afterwards, simply have their PCPs or local labs email lab results to the specialist. For this remote healthcare relationship to work, your PCP needs to be willing to partner with the specialist. Also, your specialist needs to be open to telephone or video consultations with you as needed.

Technology matters. Sharing medical records and lab tests electronically make a remote relationship work smoothly. If there are firewalls between practices, find out how to ensure your PCP and specialist share your medical records. Be prepared, you may have to be the conduit if the two healthcare systems don’t talk to each other.

Insurance and cost: Ideally, the hepatitis B specialist closest to you accepts your insurance or is in your provider network. That doesn’t always happen so finding out the charges in advance is important.

  • Will the specialist bill your insurance or will you need to pay the fee upfront and manage the insurance reimbursement yourself?
  • How much do you have to pay out-of-pocket if the specialist is outside your network, or if you are not insured? Some specialists charge a lower fee to uninsured patients. You may be able to have an annual consultation with a specialist and bring your lab results.

One hepatitis B patient reported he was not entirely happy with the specialist his PCP referred him to. “At the time, I had great insurance so all the tests he ordered weren’t a lot of money out-of-pocket,” he said. “But then I changed jobs and I couldn’t afford all of his tests, and he wanted me to go on treatment though my lab reports didn’t justify it.

“I went looking for a new one and found one in the Hepatitis B Foundation’s website,” he said. “I had to drive farther to see him, but his knowledge and patience were very comforting and he spoke my primary language. He really helped me regain confidence in life.”

Prepare for your visit: Before you see your hepatitis B medical provider, put together a list of questions (see sample questions) and have your lab reports available — either bring hard copies or call ahead of time to make sure the doctor has access to your latest labs and medical records.

After you meet with your specialist, take some time to reflect. Are you happy with the doctor? Did he or she communicate well? Are you clear about what you need to do in the weeks and months ahead to take charge of your health? If the answer is yes, congratulations, you have assembled a good healthcare team.

Contact Information: info@hepb.org

HBV

World Health Day!

 

Every year, April 7 marks World Health Day. During the 1948 First Health Assembly, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed this day “to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the WHO.” Since 1950, World Health Day has been drawing attention to specific health concerns affecting people all over the world, such as mental health, maternal and child care, and climate change. It is celebrated through activities, which extended beyond the day itself, and aids in focusing worldwide attention to global health features.

This year, World Health Day will focus on “building a fairer, healthier world for everyone.” With the COVID-19 pandemic undermining recent health gains, people have been experiencing poverty, food insecurity as well as increased inequities in areas, such as gender, social and health. The WHO has developed a year-long campaign as a call to action to eliminate inequities.

All over the world, people are struggling to earn a living. Poor housing conditions, lack of education and employment opportunities render vulnerable populations to experience inequalities to clean and safe food, air, water and health services. Consequently, more than 1 billion people living in informal or poorly built settlements face increased challenges to preventing infection and transmission of contagious diseases. According to WHO, the burden of disease is greatest in low to middle-income countries, specifically in Africa, South East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Pacific regions. With approximately 50% of people living with chronic hepatitis B coming from Asian, Pacific Islander, or African descent, the issue of inequitable access to care becomes a problem for managing hepatitis B. Hepatitis B and the resulting liver cancer are amongst the largest health disparities for these groups. The World Health Day campaign will not only bring a fairer and healthier world to everyone, but it will also work to improve access to care, so people affected by hepatitis B can receive quality treatment and care and reduce their risk for liver cancer.

 

Join the Campaign to Reduce Inequities

  1. Contact your local community leaders and policymakers who are at the forefront in making decisions that will affect your community’s future. Make it known that everyone has the right to safe living and working conditions that are conducive to good health.
  2. Encourage leaders to monitor health inequities and ensure that people have access to quality health services. Hepatitis B management is essential for preventing the formation and development of long-term complications, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. In communities most affected by the pandemic, individuals affected by hepatitis B will be at greater risk for experiencing adverse consequences.

 

Reference to WHO page about World Health Day: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/news/events/detail/2021/04/07/western-pacific-events/world-health-day-2021

 

Author: Vivian Cheng

Contact Information: info@hepb.org

Baruch S. Blumberg Institute