18. Hepatitis B in Adults, 19-24 Years of Age, by Race and Ethnicity

We also see, if one looks at adults, and I just take this as one age-group snap shot, that there are racial disparities in who gets hepatitis B in this country. Whites and Hispanic have the lower disease incidence, and again you can see this in all age groups. Asian/Pacific Islanders have an incidence that is almost 2 fold higher (this is American Indians, and does not include Alaskan natives because they are really not having disease). And the African American population has always, and continues to have, disease rates that are higher than Hispanics and whites. The Asian/Pacific Islander rates have actually been coming down over the last decade. Again, this is a snapshot in 2001, and it points out that there are disparities, and there are a number of reasons for them, but again, it is harder for some of the issues we need to deal with, in terms of trying to eliminate the burden of this disease.