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Hepatitis B Diagnosis & Monitoring, Hepatitis B Prevention, Living with Hepatitis B

Show Your Support for World Hepatitis Day!

World Hepatitis Day is Thursday, July 28th!  Join the World Hepatitis Alliance.  The theme is “This is Hepatitis”, which is aimed at raising global awareness.  Globally, two billion people have been infected with hepatitis B, (one out of three), and 400 million live with a chronic, lifelong infection.  Although there are excellent treatments available, there is no cure for hepatitis B.  However, there is a safe and effective HBV vaccine.  If you are infected, be sure loved ones and household contacts are screened and vaccinated.  If you are not infected or not vaccinated, get vaccinated and help eliminate the spread of this virus, worldwide.

Show your support by adding a World Hepatitis Day PicBadge to your facebook and twitter profile pictures.  This makes a great visual statement.  You can also add the widget to your website or blog.  Take a look at HBF’s website, and note the slider at the top with “World Hepatitis Day”.  Check out the details on how to add the World Hepatitis Day PicBadge to your profiles and website.  Select the “add to profile picture” button.  Follow the instructions and the badge will be added to your FB and/or twitter profile pics.  (FYI.. I use hootsuite to manage my tweets, and it wasn’t initially obvious that it picked it up, but it worked fine. )  Check out HBFs FB and twitter profile pics to get an idea of how it looks.  Once you make the modifications, the PicBadge program will post the badge to your wall and tweet an invite to others to join with their support.  You can also have picbadge send a request to FB friends so they may lend their support.

On a personal note, consider sharing your story on the World Hepatitis Alliance’s “Wall of Stories”  Please feel free to share your story in your native language.  The more personal the stories, the better!

Be sure to let us know what you or your organization is up to for World Hepatitis Day!  No contribution is too small in the fight against viral hepatitis!

Hepatitis B Prevention

Sending Your Child to Camp with HBV

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Got a camper in your house with HBV?  Are you concerned about filling out the mountain of paperwork associated with sending your child off to a day camp, or over-night camp this summer?  The paper work is not consistent from camp to camp, and quite often probing health questions may be asked.  If you’re a parent with a child with HBV, seeing it in print will likely be unnerving.

Camp forms will have a health history section which may start with the following:

Does the camper have a history of any of the following?  Check all that apply.

A long list of conditions including things like asthma, diabetes, migraines, surgery, and physical disabilities may be on the list, along with the possibility of “other” accompanied by a blank-line.  It is also possible there will be a box specifically for hepatitis B.

Personally, I would NOT check the “other” box, nor would I list hepatitis B on the line following “other”.   I would also NOT check the box if the medical history specifically refers to hepatitis B, or viral hepatitis.  I would also not consider my child’s liver biopsy as a “surgery”. There is NO need to offer up unnecessary information that does not pertain to the safety of your child’s camp experience.

Here is my thinking.  A condition like diabetes, asthma, or even allergies may well require acute care while the camper is at camp.  A nurse or staff person may be responsible for administering medication for this acute condition.  Children with hepatitis B are rarely symptomatic and have compensated livers. They can take prescribed or OTC drugs you and your doctor have noted on the paperwork.  The likelihood of an emergency occurring due to the child’s HBV is nil, and in the event of an unrelated emergency, your child’s liver would tolerate emergency services necessary to stabilize him.  Life saving decisions would be left in the hands of an emergency care facility and ER trained staff.

There is always the concern that camp staff should be notified in order to protect them in case of accidental exposure, but I believe this is unnecessary.  We live in a small world and disclosing a child’s HBV status to camp staff may come back to haunt you.  HBV is vaccine preventable, and staff should be up-to-date on their immunizations.  Standard precautions training is a must for camp staff.  This will protect staff and all children from potential exposure to body fluids, such as blood, if protocols are properly followed. 

Because HBV and HCV are typically asymptomatic, and children are not screened prior to attending camp, you have to assume that someone else at camp will have HBV, HCV or even HIV. 

If you can’t get past concerns regarding your child and her HBV, then perhaps you need to re-consider camp for this summer.  We all have our own comfort level, and we get there in our own time.  However, my advice is to relax, fill out the forms, and send your happy camper off to camp!

Hepatitis B Prevention, Living with Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B and Your Neighborhood Pool

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Photo by Sheila http://ht.ly/6eRlt

Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of the summer, and with it, the opening of the community pool.  Every summer, questions regarding hepatitis B and the public pool are asked.  Typically it is those that are infected, or have children that are infected with HBV, that have concerns.  Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV.  Does that mean you should be worried about contracting or spreading a blood borne pathogen like hepatitis B at the community pool?  Personally I don’t believe so, but there are a couple of things to consider.

If you’re concerned about a blood spill in the pool water than do not worry.  As long as you are frequenting a well-maintained pool that follows guidelines for consistently monitoring chlorine and pH levels in the pool, you’ll be fine.

Use common sense when at the pool.  Check that the water is clear, and the sides aren’t slimy. If the odor of your pool is too strong, something may be off.  Speak with management if you have concerns.  Pool staff are responsible for keeping water safe.  There are strict guidelines that must be followed.  Still have doubts?  Purchase your own pool test strips to confirm disinfecting quality of the pool.

Blood spills on the deck are a plausible transmission route for blood borne pathogens like HBV, but this hazard can be readily averted with proper cleanup.  Chlorine is a very effective agent against hepatitis B and other pathogens.  When made fresh and used in the correct concentrations, (nine parts water to one part chlorine) it kills pathogens like HBV.  As a team manager of a neighborhood swim team, I found the lifeguard slow to clean up a blood spill on deck.  The protocols are in place, but everyone needs to be vigilant to ensure they are followed.  If you have HBV and are bleeding on deck, don’t be afraid to insist that the blood spill be properly disinfected.  There’s no need to disclose your status.  These are standard precautions that should be followed for all blood and other body fluid spills.

The big culprit at the pool is swimmers with diarrhea.  Diarrhea causing germs may survive even in a well-maintained pool.    Chlorine resistant Cryptosporidium, also known as “Crypto”, is one such microbe.  One inadvertent gulp of contaminated pool water and it’s possible you, too, will contract diarrhea.  The good news is HBV is not spread via contaminated water, or the oral-fecal route.  Know the ABC’s of viral hepatitis!  Keep little ones out of the pool if they have diarrhea, make frequent swim-diaper changes, and don’t count on the plastic swim pants to keep everything in.  Oh, and don’t let the kids drink the pool water.  Parents, good luck with that one!

There are legitimate dangers lurking at the pool – a recent recall on pool drain covers jeopardize the safety of children, the risk of drowning and injury always exists, and of course there’s the risk of diarrhea causing illnesses.  Fortunately the odds of transmitting or contracting HBV are infinitesimal in a well maintained pool.  As always, remember that HBV has a safe and effective vaccine. Be sure those you know and love are vaccinated.

Beat the heat at your neighborhood pool this summer.  And finally, if your public pool looks like this… well, common sense would tell you there’s a lot more to worry about than hepatitis B!

 

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B A Hero Flash Mob Event!

Participants Perform a B A Hero Chant
What a pleasure and inspiration is was to participate in Hep B Free Philadelphia’s “B A Hero Flash Mob” event at City Hall, this week, in Philadelphia. It was great to experience the energy of the event through the many students and participants.

The group gathered at 11:30 to listen to brief messages from former Philadelphia Health commissioner Dr. Walter Tsou; current Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Donald Schwarz; along with Professor Raymond Lum, Drexel University School of Public Health; Chari Cohen, MPH, Associate Director of Public Health of the Hepatitis B Foundation, and Dr. Timothy Block, Volunteer President, Hepatitis B Foundation, and Professor, Drexel University College of Medicine, who addressed the group.  This was a great forum to raise awareness of Hepatitis B, and urge the public to be screened and vaccinated.

As the clock-ticked down to the final minutes, the sun beamed and particpants waited in anticipation to reveal their “secret” to the world.

Richard Liu, MPH, rallied the crowd….

“Everyone has a secret.
Someone you know has Hepatitis B.
You can fight hepatitis B and liver cancer.
Reveal your secret.
B A Hero!”

The bull-horn blew at noon, and the crowd stripped off their jackets and cover-ups, revealing their blue T-shirts emblazoned with a superman-like emblem with a big, red “B” in the shield, all the while chanting:

 “B A Hero!  Get Screened!  Get Vaccinated!”

B A Hero!

The crowd was charged with energy.  The chanting continued.  Some ran about with their B A Hero T-shirts, and red capes. 

One group of elderly adults quietly displayed their support, wearing their T-shirts.  Guest speakers were interviewed.  One group of students performed an educational, “Hep B Rap”.   

The message was clear.  Hepatitis B is a serious problem, and the public needs to be screened for hepatitis B.  There are effective drugs for those identified, and may be in need of treatment.  There is a safe and effective vaccine.  We need to ensure vaccination against hepatitis B for young and old, and especially those in high risk groups.

It was great to have media coverage at the event.  We were thankful to have KYW News Radio, CBS, Fox and ABC in attendance to help spread the word to a broader, listening group.  This was a wonderful event for Hep B Free Philly, the Hepatitis B Foundation, Hepatitis Awareness Month and the community.

Now it’s time to do your part.  Be an educator, and help raise hepatitis B awareness.  Be sure everyone you know has been screened and vaccinated for HBV. 

B A Hero today!

Hepatitis B Advocacy, Hepatitis B Treatment

Happy 20th Anniversary to the Hepatitis B Foundation!

Hepatitis B Foundation 20th Anniversary Gala

 

Join the Hepatitis B Foundation with this short, fun, YouTube video with great snapshots and music as the Hepatitis B Foundation  celebrates its 20th Anniversary.  The Hepatitis B Foundation is the only national non-profit organization solely dedicated to the global problem of Hepatitis B. 

If you want to know more about HBF, check out our mission and story.  We’ve had some great accomplishments over the last year, so take a moment and review our  2010 annual report, and see what contributions HBF has made to hepatitis B research, outreach, and advocacy.

Hepatitis B Advocacy

Call to Action! Urge Your Members of Congress to Attend Viral Hepatitis Congressional Briefing!

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On Thursday, May 12th, Congressman Mike Honda and Senator John Kerry will hold a Congressional briefing entitled “Combating the Hidden Epidemic: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Action Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis.” This briefing will inform Members of Congress and their staff about the long-awaited report from HHS that will detail the federal government’s strategy for combating hepatitis B and C in the United States.

The release of this report and the briefing offer a tremendous opportunity to change the course of the viral hepatitis epidemic in the U.S. and demonstrate Congressional leadership in moving forward a comprehensive prevention and treatment strategy.

We need as many Members of Congress and their staff to attend this briefing to show their commitment to implement and fund the HHS plan. You can help make this happen by making three important phone calls right now!

How you can make a difference:

Call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 1-888-876-6242 and ask to be connected to your U.S. Representative. When you are connected, ask for the staff person who handles health care issues. Whether you speak directly to the staff person or leave a message, tell him/her:

“My name is _____________ and I live in (city/state). I am calling to urge Representative _____________ to attend a Congressional briefing on fighting the viral hepatitis epidemic in the United States. This important briefing will outline the new HHS “Action Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis.” The briefing will be held on Thursday, May 12th, from 9:30 – 11:00 am in 210 Cannon House Office Building. Please contact Meina Banh in Congressman Mike Honda’s office for more information and to register. In the next 10 years, about 150,000 people in the United States are projected to die from liver cancer and liver disease associated with chronic hepatitis B and C. I strongly urge your office to participate in this briefing and show your commitment to fighting these preventable diseases.”

Next, call both of your two U.S. Senators (using the Capitol Switchboard number) and deliver the same message to their health care staff.

You can also ask the staff person for his/her email address and forward the attached “Dear Colleague” letter with more information about the briefing.

Thank you for taking the time to make a difference!

This Action Alert was created by the Hepatitis Appropriations Partnership, the National Task Force on Hepatitis B: Focus on AAPIs, and the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable.

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Join The Hepatitis B Foundation for Our 20th Anniversary Crystal Ball!

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The Hepatitis B Foundation is celebrating 20 years as the global authority dedicated to eradicating Hepatitis B. 

Please join us for an evening of fine dining and entertainment!

Date: Friday May 13th, 2011
Time:  Cocktails 7:00 pm
Dinner:  8:00 pm
Place:  PineCrest Country Club in Landsdale, PA
Dress:  Business or Cocktail Attire
Tickets:  $175 per person or $300 per couple

This is the Hepatitis B Foundation’s signature fund raising event, so we hope you will join us in an elegant evening of celebration, fine dining, and dancing to the sounds of Courtney Colletti Music!

Both a silent and live auction will add to the festivities.

If you are unable to attend the evening, but would like an opportunity to participate in a raffle to benefit the Hepatitis B Foundation, and WIN a six days/nights vacation to exotic Costa Rica, you may purchase a ticket.  The winning ticket will be drawn May 13th, but the winner need NOT be present to claim the prize!  Click here for more information!

For additional details and tickets, please call Ms. Peggy Farley at
215-589-6328 or email Peggy.Farley@hepb.org

We hope to see you there!

Hepatitis B Diagnosis & Monitoring, Hepatitis B Prevention

Why Vaccinate Infants Against Hepatitis B?

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Sadly, out of all age groups, it is infants and very young children that are at the greatest risk for acquiring a chronic, life-long infection with hepatitis B.  In fact 90% of babies exposed to HBV will become chronically infected, and will live with the virus for the rest of their lives.  This includes mother-to-child transmission, and horizontal transmission from close contacts.  This is why the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine is recommended before leaving the hospital.  The vaccine is safe and effective.  Choosing to vaccinate is an option those of us with HBV infected children would have LOVED to have.

Hepatitis B is a silent disease.  Forty percent of people living with HBV have no idea how they became infected.  Others have not yet been diagnosed.   Many likely acquired it at birth, or early exposure, and have had the virus smoldering for decades.  They may find out about it in routine blood tests, or from the Red Cross following a blood donation.  Hepatitis B is non-discriminating, although it is more prevalent in certain high risk groups.   Sometimes being part of a high risk group is as simple as having a parent born in a country where HBV is endemic.  Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV, and yet many people say they would get vaccinated against HIV if a vaccine existed.  Why not hepatitis B?

So why have your infant vaccinated at birth?  It just makes sense.  How can you be assured all house-hold contacts are not infected?  War heroes get infected, as do health care workers, and other loving family members – mommies, daddies, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Parents go to work, and little ones go to day care.  They play at the neighbor’s house or with friends at pre-school.  Blood spills occur and sometimes they’re not properly managed, or even noticed.   Boo-boo’s come uncovered and little friends touch.  Sometimes “love-bites” are exchanged much to the dismay of parents.  Even the most vigilant parent is going to miss something.   HBV is not transmitted casually, but the possibility of exposure cannot be denied – especially at such a young age.

Hepatitis B is a poster-child for infant vaccination.  It is a tenacious virus, and there is no true cure.  If you are a pregnant woman, be sure you are tested for hepatitis B during your pregnancy.  If you are HBV positive, break the cycle .  One in five at-risk babies in the U.S. may NOT be receiving the necessary treatment, so SPEAK UP and ensure your baby receives prophylaxis treatment at birth.  Complete the vaccine series and have your baby tested for HBV at his one-year checkup to ensure he is protected.

If you are not HBV positive give yourself piece-of-mind.  When your baby is born, be sure to have her vaccinated before you leave the hospital, and give her a lifetime of protection against hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B Diagnosis & Monitoring, Living with Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B and Chocolate

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Planning on digging into your favorite dark-chocolate stash, or biting the ears off of a dark-chocolate bunny this weekend?  Dark chocolate is popping up everywhere.  Even some old favorites have a new, dark chocolate wrapper, replacing the now-passé milk chocolate.  Recently, studies have extolled the benefits of dark chocolate, and how it potentially prevents heart disease, reduces the risk of brain damage after a stroke, lowers the risk of heart failure, lowers blood pressure, reduces heart disease, has anti-cancer benefits, slows dementia, raises libido, and last but not least, is mood enhancing.  What about those suffering hepatitis B associated liver disease?

Last year there was a study out of Spain that investigated the benefits of dark chocolate to patients with liver disease – specifically patients with cirrhosis.  Cirrhosis causes portal pressure to rise, potentially resulting in damage to blood vessels in the liver.  Eating causes an additional rise in pressure, which becomes more dangerous as liver disease progresses.  Half of the study participants were given white chocolate, and the other dark chocolate.  The dark chocolate group saw a larger decrease in the blood pressure of the liver, and increased blood flow.  Keep in mind that this was a small study with only 21 participants.

The good news is that dark chocolate, specifically the cocoa component, is rich in antioxidants called flavonoids, and other beneficial components such as  phenylethylamine, theobromine,  anandamide, magnesium, copper, and vitamins E and B.  That’s certainly a mouth-full, but it is these key components that provide all the benefits of chocolate.

Here’s the bad news.  Many of us enjoy milk chocolate, or even the dreaded white chocolate, which has little or no benefit due to the processing of the cocoa, and the resulting loss of flavonoids.   In fact, the lighter the chocolate, the fewer the benefits.  In a perfect world we would be eating unsweetened, cocoa powder right out of the tin, or a chocolate bar with upwards of 85% cocoa.  That can be a pretty biting chocolate.  The chocolate many of us enjoy has a larger quantity of white sugar , which is not beneficial to the liver, or any other organ, nor is the additional butterfat, which is added to lighter chocolate.  However, if you can adjust your tastes a little and learn to adapt to less sugar and butterfat, dark chocolate is great addition to your diet.

Aren’t most of us looking for an excuse to add chocolate to our diets?  Ultimately, all things in moderation is the key.  A small amount (roughly 6.7 grams) of dark chocolate added to your daily diet is certainly not going to hurt you, and may in fact reduce abdominal pressure and portal pressure in the liver.  Perhaps the greatest redeeming quality of chocolate is it’s mood enhancing qualities.  If it feels good, and eaten in moderation, then why not reap the benefits of dark chocolate and enjoy your improved mood.

Hepatitis B Diagnosis & Monitoring

Do You Have Hepatitis B?

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Have you been told you may be infected with  hepatitis B?  Did you get a letter following a blood donation, or receive lab results indicating infection?  It’s important you relax, educate yourself, and don’t let the news scare you.  The next step is to determine if you are infected, and if so, do you have an acute or chronic infection.

You’ll want to talk with your doctor, and have a hepatitis B blood panel run.  It is essential that you do not ignore the possibility of infection.  That being said, it’s equally important that you not panic.

When you get your lab results, ask your doctor to explain them to you.  It’s possible that you are not infected, but if you are, then you will need follow-up testing.  Be sure to ask for copies of your labs for your own records.  The test results are initially confusing, so you will want to refer back to the hard-copy results.

It is important to determine if you have an acute or chronic infection, but this may take some time.  If you were infected with HBV as an adult, there is a good chance you are acutely infected.  Fortunately, 90% of infected adults resolve the virus on their own. Recently infected adults may have flu-like symptoms, fatigue, yellowing of the eyes, or they may have no symptoms at all.  The answer is in the lab work.  Your doctor may run an HBc-IgM test, which will tell you if the infection is newly acquired. If it is a new infection, you will be monitored for the next one to six months to see if the HBV infection clears, and to ensure you are safe.  During this time, you are infectious to others, so it is important to practice standard precautions and ensure household members are vaccinated.  It is important to eat properly, rest, and avoid alcohol and tobacco. Talk to your doctor about the use of prescription and OTC drugs.  Hopefully your body will be able to mount an appropriate immune response, and you will be able to rid yourself of the virus.  If you remain surface antigen positive (HBsAg+) for more than six months you will be considered chronically infected.

Ten percent of those infected with HBV as an adult, will not clear the virus, and will become chronically infected.  Another group of adults that may just be learning of their Hepatitis B status, are those that acquired HBV at birth.  HBV infected mothers may unknowingly transmit HBV to babies.  Transmission can be prevented with vaccination at birth, but in many countries where HBV is endemic, a cycle of HBV transmission may exist where vaccination has not been available, and the virus is passed unknowingly from one generation to the next. Unfortunately, 90% of those infected at birth are chronically infected, even though it may not be determined until adulthood.  HBV is usually an uncomplaining disease, so it may be picked up accidently with blood-work , or when liver disease progresses due to decades of chronic infection.

Keep in mind that being vaccinated against hepatitis B will not protect you against the virus if you were infected with HBV prior to vaccination.  This can be confusing since most people are not screened prior to vaccination, and is  especially pertinent in high risk groups where the likelihood of mother to child transmission is greater.

The Hepatitis B Foundation has a step-by-step, comprehensive, yet-easy-to-understand tutorial that leads you through the process of determining your hepatitis B status, specific test results, and practical advice for coping with your HBV diagnosis.

Baruch S. Blumberg Institute