Viral Hepatitis

This report discusses that national pharmacy claims data for 2014–2020, 843 329 persons were treated for hepatitis C at least once. The proportion treated increased annually among persons aged <40 years, insured by Medicaid, and treated by primary care providers. Monitoring hepatitis C treatment is essential to identify barriers to treatment access.

B Heppy is a podcast aimed to inform and help individuals living with hepatitis B through discussing various topics related to hepatitis B.

The #justB storytelling campaign aims to raise the profile of hepatitis B as an urgent public health priority and helps put a human face on this serious disease by sharing stories of real people living with or affected by hepatitis B. The goals of the campaign are to increase awareness and advocacy; decrease stigma and discrimination; and promote testing, vaccination, linkage to care, and treatment to help save lives. The #justB storytelling campaign is a program of the Hepatitis B Foundation in collaboration with StoryCenter and AAPCHO.

The resources presented here are based on data obtained from the Hepatitis B Foundation patient engagement survey in 2020. The survey was an anonymous and online and was offered globally for individuals living with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and aged 18 years old and older. It received 1,707 responses from people living in 100 countries around the globe.

Harm Reduction Hacks is the product of a series of 38 qualitative conversations with harm reduction leaders representing every region of the US that took place in the Fall of 2020 and the Spring of 2021.

In 2019, NASTAD launched HepTAC, an online technical assistance (TA) and capacity building center for health department hepatitis programs. The primary goal of HepTAC is to build state and local technical expertise and enhance health department capacity to eliminate viral hepatitis. Direct technical assistance is provided primarily via the online platform using video conference technology to connect NASTAD Hepatitis team staff and its consultants to health department hepatitis staff across the county.

Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. The liver is a vital organ that processes nutrients, filters the blood, and fights infections. When the liver is inflamed or damaged, its function can be affected. Heavy alcohol use, some medications, toxins, and certain medical conditions can cause hepatitis. Read more about Hepatitis A in this fact sheet.

In recognition of Hepatitis Awareness Month, NACCHO is launching a new infographic characterizing viral hepatitis trends in the U.S., opportunities and barriers related to the prevention and elimination of viral hepatitis, and the role of local health departments (LHDs) in hepatitis prevention and elimination.

People experience harm in different, complex ways at both the structural and interpersonal levels. When people are criminalized because of illicit drug use, criminalized labor (like drug selling or sex work), or other stigmatized actions that are often survival behaviors, they are also more vulnerable to experiencing interpersonal violence.

As the United States heads into its third year in the fight against COVID-19, Americans have seen firsthand the importance of a robust and comprehensive response to public health emergencies and epidemics. The same is true for chronic viral hepatitis, a condition that impacts an estimated 3.3 million Americans. Without comprehensive plans to eliminate viral hepatitis, the US will fall short of reaching the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) goal of fully eliminating the virus by 2030.