National health care officials are sounding the alarm this month on the disproportionate impact of hepatitis B on Asian American communities, encouraging them to get tested and, if needed, vaccinated.
Hepatitis B is a virus that, when untreated, can cause severe liver problems, including cancer, liver failure or death. Of the 580,000 to 1.17 million people who suffer from the virus in the U.S., 58% are Asian, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It’s a drastic percentage considering Asian Americans only comprise around 7% of the U.S. population, but experts say it can be explained by the high rates of the disease across Asia.
In May, as National Hepatitis Awareness Month crosses over with Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the CDC and its local partners are reminding Asian Americans of this startling statistic — and urging them to get tested, as early treatment can mean a life and death difference.
“It’s really important that we remind people that testing is the only way that someone with Hepatitis B can know that they’re infected,” said Neil Gupta, a hepatitis B expert with the CDC. “And it’s important that we share this message in communities that are disproportionately impacted by Hepatitis B, including Asian American Pacific Islander communities.”
Three-fourths of those in the U.S. with hepatitis B are immigrants — with cases being much more common in countries in Asia and the Pacific Islands than in the U.S., Gupta said. The World Health Organization says Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam all face extremely high case numbers, and children born there are more likely to have the virus at birth.
It can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse, sharing needles, or contact with an infected person’s blood.
Gupta calls hepatitis B a “silent killer,” meaning people with the disease can go years without symptoms, which sometimes include abdominal pain, dark urine,…
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