Top 10 Hepatitis B News Items for 2010

Published in hbvadvocate.org
December 30, 2010
By Christine M. Kukka

A potential new, powerful treatment for hepatitis B, treating pregnant women to prevent infection of newborns, increased political and medical awareness of hepatitis B, and health care reform provisions have all had an impact on the hepatitis B community during 2010.

Three years ago, there were far fewer articles, studies and reports about monitoring, treating and preventing hepatitis B. This year, numerous studies and clinical trials have tracked the effectiveness of antivirals and interferon, and researchers have come up with new methods to monitor liver health, and screen those at risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Here are some of the major discoveries, reports, and public health initiatives that have had an impact on hepatitis B worldwide in 2010:

A National Model Emerges to Screen and Treat Asian-Americans for Hepatitis B: In 2007, community organizers in San Francisco began organizing the Hep B Free Campaign to increase screening, treatment, and immunization for hepatitis B. The initiative, which started with minimal funding, now involves more than 50 public and private health care organizations, businesses, and educational institutions, as well as Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, and has become a national model for increasing access to health care for those at risk of HBV.

The campaign, focusing on a city that has the highest rate of liver cancer in the country, has created seven low-cost public access hepatitis B screening and vaccination sites through collaboration with community partners, public and private hospitals, doctors, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, and non-profit organizations.

San Francisco, with its high percentage of Asian-American residents, has the highest rate of liver cancer in the nation and is the gateway for immigrants from Asian countries where there is a high prevalence of hepatitis B. The model is now being copied in San Mateo, San Jose, Orange County and Los Angeles, and federal and state health officials are touting its success and suggesting it be used in other cities with at-risk populations across the country.

Activists Utilize Provocative Social Marketing to Fight Hepatitis B: For years, critics have faulted hepatitis B activists for their low-profile, under-the-radar efforts to raise awareness of hepatitis B among those at risk for the infection, particularly Asian-Americans. Unlike AIDS activists, who publicly acknowledged their infections and staged public protests to raise awareness and push for fast-track development of AIDS drugs, hepatitis B organizers have been quiet, in part because many Asian-Americans found the culture of public protest and discussion of illness and death distasteful.

As part of San Francisco’s Hep B Free campaign, the Asian-American advertising agency DAE produced a provocative ad campaign entitled “Which One Deserves to Die” to alert the public that 1 in 10 Asian-Americans is chronically infected with HBV.

The posters appeared in local ethnic and mainstream newspapers, billboards, and bus transit boards in May 2010 in honor of the 15th anniversary of National Hepatitis Awareness Month and Asian Pacific Heritage Month. They showed groups of Asian-American beauty contestants, a sports team, and a family of 10 with the caption, “Which one deserves to die?”

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Giants Support SF Hep B Free Campaign

Online article published by Hokubei.com on April 29, 2010

Come root for the San Francisco Giants and support SF Hep B Free, a citywide effort to screen and vaccinate all Asian and Pacific Islanders for hepatitis B.

A portion of ticket sales from three of the Giants’ Asian Heritage Night games in May at AT&T Park will benefit SF Hep B Free. To order online, go to http://purchasetickets.com.

• Korean Heritage Night, Wednesday, May 12, at 7:15 p.m.

Fans will be entertained with Korean cultural performances on the field prior to the game against the San Diego Padres, and all special event ticket holders will be seated in the same section to create a community feel at the park. Additionally, each ticket package includes a commemorative Korean-themed Giants T-shirt that is only available through this ticket offer. Come out and represent the strong connection between Korean culture and baseball at this great event.

• Japanese Heritage Night, Friday, May 14, at 7:15 p.m.

Japanese culture has always resonated strongly with both the city of San Francisco and the sport of baseball, so what better way to celebrate than at a Giants game? The Japanese Heritage Night sake tasting festival returns for Year 2, with a brand new piece for your Giants sake set collection: a Giants-themed individual sake glass and masu (wooden box). This special-edition item is included in the price of your ticket, along with entrance to the pre-game festival with complimentary tastes, and a seat in the special Japanese Heritage section at the game. Cultural performers will entertain fans at the festival and on the field pre-game, and ticket proceeds will benefit local Japanese American charities. The sake-tasting festival ends when the game against the Houston Astros starts, so get there early.

Prior to this game, there will be a special home plate ceremony with Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco), and other members of the campaign.

• Chinese Heritage Night, Tuesday, May 25, at 7:15 p.m.

Join the Giants on Chinese Heritage Night for the first in a planned series of events celebrating the Chinese zodiac. Along with a ticket to the game, a seat in the Chinese Heritage section, and pre-game cultural entertainment, all special event ticket holders will receive a collector's edition Giants-themed "Year of the Tiger" figurine. Ticket proceeds will also benefit local Chinese American charities, so don't miss your opportunity to celebrate the Bay Area's rich Chinese heritage and support a good cause.

Hep B Screening

One in 10 people in the API community is diagnosed with hepatitis B, which causes 80 percent of all liver cancer. Get tested for free at the sixth annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration.

Screenings will be provided on site by California Pacific Medical Center, so make sure you, your friends and family know where you stand with hep B. Look for the testing site near McAllister and Larkin streets. For more information, go to SFHepBFree.org.

The AHSC will be held Saturday, May 15, in San Francisco's Civic Center in front of the Asian Art Museum, leading up to the Little Saigon District, on Larkin Street from Grove to Ellis streets. The street fair is the largest gathering of Asian Pacific Americans in the nation and this year it will be bigger than ever, featuring Asian American artists, DJs, arts and crafts, diverse food, martial arts, a Muay Thai kickboxing ring, J-cars, and more.

New features this year include a mah jong section, Filipino American jazz, a balut eating challenge and wine area.

Be sure to also check out the Subaru Hep B Mobile, which will be located near the screening site. Festival-goers are welcome to take pictures with the car.

Subaru of America is the official vehicle and partner of the SF Hep B Free campaign. For the rest of the year, the automaker is donating the use of a 2010 Subaru Legacy detailed with full color artwork promoting the campaign theme, which calls on everyone to "B a Hero" in preventing liver cancer and hepatitis B.

San Francisco Giants Asian Heritage Nights: Benefiting San Francisco Hep B Free

Published in AsianWeek e-newsletter, April 22, 2010

Come root for the San Francisco Giants and support SF Hep B Free - a citywide effort to screen and vaccinate all Asian and Pacific Islanders for hepatitis B. A portion of ticket sales from three of the Giants May Asian heritage night games will benefit SF Hep B Free!

SF Giants Korean Heritage Night
Wednesday, 5/12 vs. SD at 7:15pm

Fans will be entertained with Korean cultural performances on the field prior to the game, and all special event ticket holders will be seated in the same section to create a community feel at the Park. Additionally, each ticket package includes a commemorative Korean-themed Giants t-shirt that is only available through this ticket offer. Come out and represent the strong connection between Korean culture and baseball at this great event!

BUY TICKETS NOW: sfhepbfree.org/SFgiants/Korean

SF Giants Japanese Heritage Night
Friday, 5/14 vs. HOU at 7:15pm

Japanese culture has always resonated strongly with both the city of San Francisco and the sport of baseball, so what better way to celebrate than at a Giants game? The Japanese Heritage Night sake tasting festival returns for year two, with a brand new piece for your Giants' sake set collection: a Giants-themed individual sake glass and masu (wooden box). This special-edition item is included in the price of your ticket, along with entrance to the pre-game festival with complimentary tastes, and a seat in the special Japanese Heritage section at the game. Cultural performers will entertain fans at the festival and on the field pre-game, and ticket proceeds will benefit local Japanese charities. The sake-tasting festival ends when the game starts, so get there early!

BUY TICKETS NOW: sfhepbfree.org/SFgiants/Japanese

Prior to this game, there will be a special home plate ceremony with Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and other members of the campaign. Come out and show your support for Hep B awareness on Friday May 14!


Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, former Giants outfielder Dave Roberts, and Dr. Sam So, of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford at a 2008 game.

SF Giants Chinese Heritage Night
Tuesday, 5/25vs. WAS at 7:15pm

Join the Giants on Chinese Heritage Night for the first in a planned series of events celebrating the Chinese Zodiac! Along with a ticket to the game, seat in the Chinese Heritage section, and pre-game cultural entertainment, all special event ticket holders will receive a collector's edition Giants-themed "Year of the Tiger" figurine. Ticket proceeds will also benefit local Chinese charities, so don't miss your opportunity to celebrate the Bay Area's rich Chinese heritage and support a good cause!

BUY TICKETS NOW: sfhepbfree.org/SFgiants/Chinese

City-wide Campaign Becomes National Hep B Model

By Fia Curley

Article on U.S. HHS Office of Minority Health website
Download PDF | OMH Homepage screenshot | OMH Article screenshot

National recognition, high-profile partnerships, in-kind donations and non-stop media buzz have the grassroots Hep B Free San Francisco Campaign looking attractive.

But if the campaign somehow lost momentum and funding dried up, organizers on the volunteer task force say they would still be working to spread the message: Hepatitis B can be eradicated.

"Nobody came into this campaign because of money," said Dr. Samuel So, director of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University. "A lot of people don't actually do anything unless they're funded. We feel this is the right thing to do for the community and whether we get funded or not, we're going to do it."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at SF hep B Free press conference.

The Jade Ribbon campaign started in San Francisco in 2001 with the goal of testing and vaccinating San Francisco residents for hepatitis B. Since then the campaign has morphed into Hep B Free SF, spread in popularity in the Bay Area and across the country and gained national recognition, highlighted by a press conference in October with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, Dr. Garth Graham. Federal representatives and government officials are now looking to replicate the program in cities with high Asian-American populations.



Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver and can be passed through bodily fluids via blood transfusions, sexual intercourse or tattoos or acupuncture with unclean equipment.

The virus causes yellowing of the skin, aching muscles and joints, fatigue and loss of appetite. But for people with chronic Hepatitis B, which often doesn't cause symptoms and is transmitted from mother to child, the end result can be liver cancer and death.

The campaign's intention has been to emphasize the positive messages surrounding testing through diverse outlets in order to drive more people to their own doctors for screening, vaccination and monitoring.

And now in the second phase of Hep B Free, organizers are encouraging people to visit a doctor who tests for Hep B and touting a clinician honor roll - to harness doctors' competitive nature - that will advertise a list of doctors who perform the test in major area newspapers.

Tests and subsequent vaccinations create the possibility of curbing the No. 1 health disparity in the Asian-American community.

"We really need to seize on this opportunity to address this health problem, which in the past has never received any attention," said So, a surgeon and self-proclaimed "passionate, evidenced-based advocate," who's found that some health professionals are not aware of what tests to administer for Hepatitis B.

"We have to go back to the ABC's of Hepatitis," he said. "This is a disease we can't assume they know."

The fact that not all clinicians in the Bay Area are aware of the need for Hepatitis B screening has become increasingly apparent to Dr. Lisa Tang, a primary care physician for Kaiser Permanente, who balances more than two thousand patients and has worked with the campaign for the past two years.

"It's not a standard of care with hepatitis B screenings and that's why people are not doing it," Tang said. "The risk to liver cancer is real, but is it on people's radar?"

And although Tang readily admits to moving at frenetic pace, she's determined to tackle the topic of physician awareness as she heads the clinicians outreach committee.

"Personally as an Asian American I find l do have a responsibility to do this and to make this change," Tang said. "Being a physician you change life one at a time, but for me to be able to act as a physician leader and change the behavior of my colleagues and to change how they practice — I think that implication can do so much good for the common good."

However, eradicating the virus from the entire city has taken more than a few partners in the health community.

"A lot of initiatives only work with community health centers but that's not representative of the whole community," So said. "You need everybody involved. We reached across the aisle to all the groups. So in a way it really created the opportunity for city-wide implementation and adoption."

Partnerships include the San Francisco Giants, City College of San Francisco, DAE Advertising, and Office of California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. About 40 percent of partners are not health care organizations.

The campaign was modeled after a social movement with intentional decentralized collaboration and an approach that would be embraced by Asian cultures, according to Janet Zola, health promotions specialist of Communicable Diseases for the San Francisco Health Department.

"The thing about Hep B is we have everything we need to put this in a box," said Zola, founder of the San Francisco Immunization Coalition. "What we're lacking is public awareness by the general population of why this is important. It was clear we needed everyone involved to take true ownership of this."

With at least five major cities poised to adopt and adapt the Hep B Free campaign, original members in San Francisco are looking toward the challenge of bringing clinicians on board to enact their multifaceted approach.

"We had a much bigger picture from the beginning," said Ted Fang, director of Asian Week Foundation and fellow board member whose expertise resides in diversity issues. "We want the onus to be on the patients and the clinicians."

As billboards, bus ads and radio PSAs remind residents to ‘Be a Hero,' Fang continues to see the possibilities of the movement. From the original small dinner of ideas and listening ears in 2007 to use of the Hep B Free logo and adoption by other cities, the goal of making San Francisco the first Hepatitis B-free city is something he sees as obtainable.

"I do see it as a turning point in the history of the Asian-American community," he said, although he is quick to add, "we're not done yet - the great thing about this project is that it has an ending."

While the campaign seems to be "taking on a life of its own" Fang continues to remind people that this is a goal they must all work toward.

"We can eradicate this disease; we will eradicate this disease; someday it will be eradicated," Fang said. "When hepatitis B is eradicated, there will be a book written. And when that book is written it will say it started with the Asian-American community."

Fia Curley is a writer for the OMHRC. Comments? Email: fcurley@omhrc.gov

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and Giants first baseman Travis Ishikawa

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and Giants first baseman Travis Ishikawa carried this important message in a public service announcement that was played during the May 12 homeplate ceremony.

Assemblywoman Ma teams with the Giants to beat Hepatitis B