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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

AsianWeek: "CDC Announces New Testing Recommendations"

September 23, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO - With the S.F. Hep B Free’s “B a Hero” ad encouraging people to get tested for the disease as a backdrop, members of the campaign joined Dr. John Ward, director of Viral Hepatology for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, at the Chinatown Public Health Center on Sept. 18 to announce the CDC’s new treatment recommendations.

The national recommendations, primarily for health care providers, are designed to increase routine testing in the United States for chronic hepatitis B, a major cause of liver disease and liver cancer.

The new testing recommendations reinforce prior recommendations to test all pregnant women, infants born to infected mothers, household contacts, sex partners of infected individuals and people with HIV. Along with these groups, testing is now recommended for persons with abnormal liver function tests and who require chemotherapy, men who have sex with men and drug users who use injections, a group that has a higher prevalence rate of chronic HBV infection than the general U.S. population. Individuals born in Asia, Africa and other geographic regions are also recommended to get tested; these groups have a 2 percent or higher prevalence of chronic HBV.

Ward said these new recommendations are critical to identifying people who are living with the disease.

“Testing is the first step to identify infected persons so that they can receive lifesaving care and treatment, which break the cycle of transmission, slow disease progression and prevent deaths from liver cancer,” said Ward.

The CDC advises that those already infected with the disease seek a specialist for ongoing monitoring and medical care. Healthcare providers are directed to offer culturally sensitive ongoing patient education and to begin lifelong monitoring for the progression of liver disease.

With jade ribbon pins on their lapels, supporters in attendance included Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Franchise Lead of Hepatolgy Allan Brooks, the Chinatown Public Health Center’s Albert Yu and San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Director Dr. Mitch Katz, who sported the campaign’s royal blue “B a Hero” wristband.

“The S.F. Hep B Free campaign has done a great job of spreading awareness of this disease,” said Ma, a chronic hepatitis B carrier. “If you have not been screened, go out and do so today.”

For more information about hepatitis B, visit cdc.gov/hepatitis. For more about the S.F. Hep B Free campaign sfhepbfree.org.

Friday, September 19, 2008

San Francisco Chronicle: "Hepatitis B plan seeks to aid high-risk groups"

September 19, 2008

Federal health officials Thursday made public new recommendations designed to reduce the toll of chronic hepatitis B, particularly among Asian Americans and others considered at high risk for the disease that's known as a silent killer.

For the first time, government guidelines will focus on treatment, education and long-term care of infected patients. Until now, recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have centered on screening and testing.

Hepatitis B, which affects an estimated 25,000 Asians and Pacific Islanders in San Francisco alone, is a major cause of liver cancer, cirrhosis or liver failure - and often strikes without apparent symptoms. It is preventable with a simple vaccine.

The CDC's new guidelines recommend testing all people in the United States who were born in Asia and Africa. Additionally, testing should be done for "at-risk" people, including men who have sex with other men and injection-drug users.

"There are better treatments (available) than ever before," said Dr. John W. Ward, director of the CDC's division of viral hepatitis, during a news conference Thursday at the Chinatown Public Health Center.

San Francisco was chosen as the site for the announcement in part because of the effectiveness of the San Francisco Hep B Free campaign, which was started in April 2007. So far, 4,000 people have been vaccinated through the project, a collaboration of the city, private health care and community organizations. The program, the goal of which is to eradicate the virus in the city, is considered a model nationally.

San Francisco, like other Bay Area cities, is a gateway for immigrants from China and other Asian countries where there is a high prevalence of the infection. The city has the nation's highest rate of liver cancer.

Nationally, health experts believe that as many as 1.4 million Americans may unknowingly be infected by hepatitis B. About 2,000 to 4,000 people die each year in the United States from cirrhosis and liver cancer, and chronic hepatitis B is the underlying cause.

According to the CDC, 1 in 12 Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States is infected.

The new guidelines "will offer that much more oomph," said Dr. Mitch Katz, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. "This is a disease that is both preventable for many and treatable."

State Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, learned when she was 22 that she had the infection, contracted from her mother as an infant. But only in the past two years, she said, has she learned much about the disease and taken steps to slow its progression. She quit drinking and started getting an annual sonogram of her liver.

Now she's trying to destigmatize it for others.

"Our culture is not to talk about disease," she said. "People should not keep this a secret. I was walking around for 20 years not knowing what to do about my own health. I have a 1 in 4 probability of developing liver cancer. I'm hopeful that the disease won't affect me in my lifetime."

Hepatitis B

-- It is caused by the hepatitis B virus. If untreated, it can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure.

-- It can be passed from a mother to her child during childbirth, the most common way that Asians and Pacific Islanders acquire the disease. It also can be spread by unprotected sex and contact with razors or toothbrushes or other items that harbor infected blood.

-- It can be detected through a simple blood test.

-- A highly effective vaccine is available.

-- 350 million to 400 million people in the world are chronically infected.

-- 1.4 million of them are Americans.

-- 1 in 10 San Francisco Asians and Pacific Islanders have the disease.

For more information go to: links.sfgate.com/ZEWN or links.sfgate.com/ZEWM

Source: San Francisco Hep B Free and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Be a Hero Gala at Chinese Culture Center

Be a Hero Gala - September 18, 2008

To view all pictures, click here!







To view all pictures, click here!

CBS5.com: "SF: Assemblywoman Fiona Ma Wants to Eradicate Hepatitis B From the City"

September 18, 2008

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, said at news conference in San Francisco Chinatown's Public Health Center today that she is the one out of every ten Asian-American and Pacific Islanders that carry the Hepatitis B Virus and dreams of eradicating the disease from the United States.

At the conference that was laden by supporters and stakeholders of the campaign SF Hep B Free to rid the virus in the city, the U.S. Center for Disease Control released more strict testing recommendations to help further the Ma's goal. The center collaborated with consultants and experts to recommend ways to rid the potentially fatal disease that is passed through genetics and blood.

It recommends testing people who were born in Africa, Asia and other geographic regions with 2 percent or higher prevalence of chronic Hepatitis B Virus infections. Before today, the center had the same recommendation for regions with 8 percent prevalence.

It also recommends men who have sex with men and injection drug users get routine testing because they have higher prevalence of chronic Hepatitis B Virus than the overall population.

Ma passed a resolution two years ago to test and treat Pacific Islanders in San Francisco for the disease that can lead to liver cancer for a quarter of infected people.

"It's about saving lives,'' she said.

Many other groups such as Stanford University, Kaiser Permanente and a younger community outreach group, B a Hero, supported Ma today for the same reason.

A 17-year-old girl named Stephanie Shan, who was wearing a blue shirt with a Superman logo that replaced the "S'' with a "B,'' said she joined an advocacy group when her father died from liver cancer, provoked by Hepatitis B one year ago.

"I was 16 and I didn't even know what the disease was,'' Shan said. "Now I'm here because I think it's really important that people get tested to prevent it from happening to other families.''

Stanford University Global Community Health Coordinator Alena Groopman said the goal is to make policies and campaigns in San Francisco global.

"A lot of people who have it don't even know they have it,'' Alena said. "The first step is getting tested.'' SF Hep B Free provides free testing and low-cost treatment for any Pacific Islanders living in San Francisco.

Associated Press: "SF: Assemblywoman Ma Wants to Eradicate Hepatitis B from the City"

September 18, 2008

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, said at news conference in San Francisco Chinatown's Public Health Center today that she is the one out of every ten Asian-American and Pacific Islanders that carry the Hepatitis B Virus and dreams of eradicating the disease from the United States.

At the conference that was laden by supporters and stakeholders of the campaign SF Hep B Free to rid the virus in the city, the U.S. Center for Disease Control released more strict testing recommendations to help further the Ma's goal. The center collaborated with consultants and experts to recommend ways to rid the potentially fatal disease that is passed through genetics and blood.

It recommends testing people who were born in Africa, Asia and other geographic regions with 2 percent or higher prevalence of chronic Hepatitis B Virus infections. Before today, the center had the same recommendation for regions with 8 percent prevalence.

It also recommends men who have sex with men and injection drug users get routine testing because they have higher prevalence of chronic Hepatitis B Virus than the overall population.

Ma passed a resolution two years ago to test and treat Pacific Islanders in San Francisco for the disease that can lead to liver cancer for a quarter of infected people.

"It's about saving lives,'' she said.

Many other groups such as Stanford University, Kaiser Permanente and a younger community outreach group, B a Hero, supported Ma today for the same reason.

A 17-year-old girl named Stephanie Shan, who was wearing a blue shirt with a Superman logo that replaced the "S'' with a "B,'' said she joined an advocacy group when her father died from liver cancer, provoked by Hepatitis B one year ago.

"I was 16 and I didn't even know what the disease was,'' Shan said. "Now I'm here because I think it's really important that people get tested to prevent it from happening to other families.''

Stanford University Global Community Health Coordinator Alena Groopman said the goal is to make policies and campaigns in San Francisco global.

"A lot of people who have it don't even know they have it,'' Alena said. "The first step is getting tested.''

SF Hep B Free provides free testing and low-cost treatment for any Pacific Islanders living in San Francisco.

Media Advisory: "SF Hep B Free Announces Enhanced Programs in Step with Release of National CDC Hepatitis B Recommendations"

September 17, 2008


WHAT:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is releasing new recommendations for health care providers designed to increase routine testing in the United States for chronic hepatitis B, a major cause of liver disease and liver cancer. Details of SF Hep B Free's expanded public outreach campaign, launched to coincide with national hepatitis treatment recommendations that will be announced on September 18 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).


Representatives from SF Hep B Free and the CDC will address how the new guidelines will impact residents and healthcare providers in San Francisco, the U.S. city with the highest rate of liver cancer, a disease caused by the hepatitis B virus.

WHO:
Confirmed speakers:
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D- San Francisco), a hep B carrier
Dr. Mitch Katz, Director, San Francisco Department of Public Health
Ted Fang, AsianWeek editor, SF Hep B Free Campaign member

Dr. John Ward, Director of Viral Hepatology, CDC, will address the implication of the new recommendations on San Francisco's Asian American Pacific Islanders, of which 1 in 10 has an undiagnosed case of hepatitis B.

Invited speakers:
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
Aaron Peskin, San Francisco Board of Supervisors president


WHEN:
Thursday, September 18, 2008, 1:00 p.m. (PST)



WHERE:
Chinatown Public Health Center 2nd floor 1490 Mason St. at the top of Broadway St.



CONTACT: Christina Kreitzer
christina@allisonpr.com
office: (415) 277-4924, mobile: (415) 235-9158


ABOUT HBV: Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs) are disproportionately impacted by Hepatitis B. It is a disease of the liver caused by HBV, a virus often called a "silent killer" because it can cause liver cancer, cirrhosis or liver failure without producing symptoms. San Francisco has the highest liver cancer rate in the nation and 80% of liver cancer in APIs is caused by HBV. But it's preventable with a simple vaccine.


ABOUT SF Hep B Free: SF Hep B Free is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between city government, private healthcare and community organizations. The goal of the citywide campaign is to eradicate hepatitis B in San Francisco by screening, testing and vaccinating all API residents.
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