Hepatitis B

Did you know?

Most people from Asia and the Pacific Rim become infected with HBV through transmission from infected mother to child at birth. The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is 100 times more infectious than HIV.
The greatest health disparity between Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans is liver cancer, 80% of which is caused by chronic hepatitis B virus infection.
One out of 4 people with chronic hepatitis B virus infection who became chronically infected during childhood will die of HBV-related liver cancer or cirrhosis.Â ThatÂ’s 100 million of the 400 million chronic HBV infected people in the world.
In API men living in California, liver cancer ranks as a leading cause of cancer death: #1 in Laotian Americans, #2 in Vietnamese and Cambodian Americans, #4 in Chinese and Korean Americans, and #5 in Filipino Americans. (http://liver.stanford.edu/)
All newborns and children under 19 years of age in the United States are recommended to receive hepatitis B vaccination, particularly API children.Â The hepatitis B vaccine is free for children under 19 years of age through the federal Vaccines for Children program.

APAMSA’s Dedication to Hepatitis B:

A vaccine and treatment options are available for hepatitis B, yet the prevalence rates in API Americans are staggeringly high. You as members of APAMSA, dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Asian Pacific Americans, can make a difference!Â If we as a nation of APAMSA chapters work together, we can collectively take action against an entirely preventable disease.

APAMSA National Hepatitis B Annual Meeting

Our national service project, “APAMSA Fights to Break the Hepatitis B Cycle!” is dedicated to educating, screening, and immunizing the APA community for Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is a devastating liver disease which is extremely prevalent in the Asian Pacific American community. It is often called a Â“silent killerÂ” because it can lead to liver cancer and nearly sudden death at very early ages. To address this issue, APAMSA held their first ever Hepatitis B training session every year since 2006. The programming consisted of lectures by world renowned hepatologists. In addition, during their afternoon session, leading hepatologists from around the country led the students in break out sessions to discuss and brainstorm Hepatitis B outreach projects in their local areas.

2010 National Meeting (Boston, MA)
2009 National Meeting (Boston, MA)
2008 National Meeting (San Francisco, CA)
2007 National Meeting (Boston, MA)
2006 National Meeting (Boston, MA)

APAMSA’s Hepatitis B How-to-Guide

The first ever Hepatitis BÂ How-to-guide is complete with step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a screening, as well as in language materials, suggestions for educational events, and important community contacts.Â It an important resource for all chapters and the community.

Download APAMSA Hepatitis B How-to-Guide

Hepatitis B Community Screening Model

The purpose of constructing this model is to aid in the estimations of the potential long-term costs associated with HBV screening programs, especially for patients that do not have insurance or may require additional health and financial related services by not-for-profit organizations. Please see the “Instructions” tab once you download the model for more information. Please click here to download model.

APAMSA’s fight to break the Hep B cycle starts with education.

Our goal is for all chapters to educate medical students and local community members about the burden of hepatitis B in the API community. A variety of interactive tools are available on our website.

HepB Screening

Eliminating Hepatitis B requires that we identify those who need treatment and provide them with the resources they need to be properly treated. Click here to see a list of programs that are interested in APAMSA’s help. Â This list is frequently updated.