The Hawaii State Department of Health recently received a $40,350 grant from Kaiser Permanente Hawaii to help with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis.
“Hepatitis B and C are truly silent epidemics because most people don’t know that they have been infected with hepatitis. There may not be any symptoms for many years, and there is still limited awareness about hepatitis,” said Thaddeus Pham, DOH Adult Viral Hepatitis Prevention Coordinator. “This is especially true for foreign-born Asian and Pacific Islander communities who may not have access to culturally appropriate, in-language materials about viral hepatitis.”
It is estimated that 1 out of 10 Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States have hepatitis B, compared to 1 out of 1,000 in the general U.S. population.
Since more than half of the people living in Hawaii are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent according to the 2010 U.S. Census, this means the burden of hepatitis in Hawaii is especially high.
According to DOH estimates, 1 to 3 percent of people in Hawaii have hepatitis B, and approximately 23,000 are living with hepatitis C. Hepatitis B and C are the most common known causes of liver cancer in Hawaii, and Hawaii has the highest rate of liver cancer in the country.
More information on hepatitis B and C is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/hepatitis, or by calling 1-888-443-7232. For more information about hepatitis resources in Hawaii, go to www.hepfreehawaii.org.
See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
