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• Feelings of Sadness and Hepatitis B? – You Are Not Alone!

    Why Did This Happen to Me?  Being diagnosed with hepatitis B can be scary and maybe you feel like you can’t tell anyone, but you are not alone. Living with hepatitis B is more common than you think, about 300 million people are living with hepatitis B worldwide! You might be wondering how could this happened to me? Did you know that hepatitis B is an ancient virus? It has been around for thousands of years, is most common in Africa, Asia, and the Western Pacific. And transmission of the virus is almost always from mother-to-child, due to the blood exchange during labor and delivery. Most people with chronic hepatitis B infection were infected at birth or during early childhood. There are other, less common ways hepatitis B can be transmitted through unsterile medical or dental equipment, unprotected sex, or unsterile needles. Feeling Sad After Your Hepatitis B Diagnosis?  Sometimes after our diagnosis, we might feel overwhelmed with emotions. These emotions could be anger, sadness, anxiousness, numbness, or maybe a combination of everything. It never hurts to ask someone for some help. Consider going to a therapist. Talking to a therapist, especially if you’ve always kept your hepatitis B a secret, can help you get a better handle on your hepatitis B diagnosis. It can be freeing to talk to another person and have them support you on your emotional and physical health journey. If you don’t have access to a therapist or prefer to be more anonymous, you can join online support groups. Hep B Community is a great resource if you are in need of online global support – they are dedicated to connecting people affected by hepatitis B with each other and with verified experts in the field, who provide trustworthy and accurate advice. You can also incorporate healthy habits into your lifestyle like taking daily walks, mediation, or incorporating any exercise you enjoy. Eating healthy, with lots of fruits and vegetables can make you feel better inside as well! Can

  http://www.hepb.org/blog/feelings-sadness-hepatitis-b-not-alone/
• Zero Discrimination Day

  Every year, UNAIDS marks March 1st as Zero Discrimination Day. This year, Zero Discrimination Day highlights “the urgent need to take action to end the inequalities surrounding income, sex, age, health status, occupation, disability, sexual orientation, drug use, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and religion that continue to persist around the world”. Although hepatitis B affects about 300 million people worldwide, hepatitis B related discrimination still is pervasive. In fact, the Hepatitis B Foundation has been documenting these inequalities through our Discrimination Registry. Since May of 2021, we have documented over 250 cases of hepatitis B related discrimination from all over the globe. Of these cases, 213 individuals experienced discrimination personally and 151 knew of people who were discriminated against. Within these reports, people have described instances where they have been denied employment or lost employment due to their hepatitis B status or had been denied educational opportunities or immigration to another country. The top 10 countries where people have reported hepatitis B related discrimination are the Philippines, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, United States, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Sierra Leone. The Hepatitis B Foundation is aware that discrimination is happening around the world and encourages people to report any discrimination on the registry here. Notably, the United States is in the top 10 countries where people have reported hepatitis B discrimination. Most of the reporting within the United States comes from individuals in the military living with hepatitis B. Currently, the military in the United States and many countries unethically prohibits individuals with hepatitis B to serve due to outdated guidelines. Now, since most individuals within the military setting should be vaccinated against hepatitis B and with the accessibility of hepatitis B antiviral therapy which can control the virus, the risk of

  http://www.hepb.org/blog/zero-discrimination-day/
• Progress on the Cure: Update From Timothy Block

  A primary goal of the Hepatitis B Foundation has always been to find a cure for the disease. When we ask Dr. Timothy Block, The Hepatitis B Foundation’s president and co-founder, about progress towards a cure by the many scientists worldwide working on that challenge, he considers many different angles. The clinical definition of a cure Dr. Block favors is for someone who has hepatitis B to regain the liver health and low liver cancer risk enjoyed by someone without hepatitis B. That goal is considered too ambitious by most clinicians. A more realistic goal is sustained, drug-free, virological response for people living with hepatitis B. This means that a person for whom treatment has stopped has the same low (undetectable) viral load as when they were actively being treated on drug therapy. This already happens in a small percentage of patients and is associated with an improved clinical outcome: much less likelihood of developing serious liver disease, including liver cancer. There is a new wave of drugs being evaluated now that Dr. Block believes may provide a sustained virological response, possibly when used in combinations with the current “standard of care”. Promising examples are what’s known as capsid inhibitors, siRNAs, NAPs/STOPs and entry inhibitors.  There are even modifications of the polymerase inhibitors that have potential. As you can see in our Drug Watch page, at least 40 new treatments are now in clinical trial. The reason it has been so difficult to find a cure for hepatitis B, Dr. Block explained, is that the virus has been around for hundreds of thousands of years and has established a mechanism to coexist with its host in a way that avoids a person’s immune system. It burrows its DNA into the nucleus of cells and is incredibly difficult to attack in ways that don’t harm the patient. Another reason progress toward a cure has been slow, Dr. Block says, is that people with hepatitis B are simply too polite. Without a grassroots

  http://www.hepb.org/blog/progress-cure-update-timothy-block/
• Caregivers and Hepatitis B

  November is National Family Caregivers Month. This month we celebrate and recognize the caregivers who take care of and support their family members 24/7. People living with hepatitis B or advanced liver disease might need a caregiver. Oftentimes, family members step in and fulfill this role. Being a caregiver is a tough, but noble job. Caregivers to someone living with hepatitis B might have to manage medications, doctors' appointments, and oversee their overall health. This blog will highlight the challenges associated with caregiving and provide supportive resources. Hepatitis B disproportionately affects Asian, Pacific Islander, and African populations. In fact, around 59% of those U.S. residents with chronic hepatitis B in the U.S. in 2018 emigrated from Asia, 19% from the Americas and 15% from Africa. It can be hard for people living with chronic hepatitis B to receive culturally appropriate care in the U.S., where English is the primary language. Caregivers of individuals living with hepatitis B might have to provide these translation services at doctors' appointments, which can be difficult to juggle for caregivers who also work and/or take care of families – and some may find it difficult to discuss sensitive health information on behalf of their loved ones. Taking time to be with a family member at the doctors’ office can sometimes be difficult, especially if the caregiver is working a full-time job. Often companies can be understanding of family obligations, but sometimes caregivers’ occupations do not allow them to be at appointments, making them take time off, which can become a financial burden. Additionally, a study in China1 “suggested that the annual direct cost for patients with chronic hepatitis B infection, compensated cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis or primary liver cancer were $4,552, $7,400.28, $6,936 and $10,63, respectively, which were catastrophic expenditures for the households of the patients”. This financial burden can take

  http://www.hepb.org/blog/caregivers-hepatitis-b/
• Your Sexual Health and Hepatitis B!

  … 1 month. Whichever brand of vaccine you take, the entire series of shots is needed for long-term protection. If you are unaware of your hepatitis B status, ask your healthcare provider to get tested! More information on the simple hepatitis B testing can be found here! Additional Prevention Methods Practicing safe sex is also a great way to prevent the transmission of hepatitis B. If someone is living with hepatitis B and you don’t know your partner’s hepatitis B vaccine status, be sure to have sex with a condom to prevent the transmission of hepatitis B during intercourse. Sometimes during sex, people like to use personal lubricants. When using condoms it is important to remember to only use silicone or water-based lubricant. Oil-based lubricants increase the chance of ripping or tearing the condom.   Author: Evangeline Wang Contact Information: info@hepb.org

  http://www.hepb.org/blog/sexual-health-hepatitis-b/
• CTC Foundation of Princeton donating $100,000 to Hepatitis B Foundation

  Doylestown, Pa., Feb. 3, 2022 – The CTC Foundation of Princeton, N.J., is donating $100,000 over five years to the Hepatitis B Foundation, a global nonprofit organization that is engaged in advocacy, education and research to combat hepatitis B, the most common serious liver infection in the world. “The CTC Foundation chooses to support the Hepatitis B Foundation because of the extraordinary people who founded it decades ago, the vision and commitment of the leadership team they assembled, and the breadth of impact this dedicated group continues to cultivate,” the CTC Foundation’s Board of Trustees said. “We believe that multi-year support is critical for the Foundation, to know that there is funding available to execute initiatives in their strategic plan to end hepatitis B.” Chari Cohen, DrPH, MPH, senior vice president of the Hepatitis B Foundation, said: “We are very appreciative of this generous support and the continued commitment of the CTC Foundation. This donation will help support our unique patient engagement program, so that we can continue to improve the quality of life of people living with hepatitis B, and ensure that their voices play a meaningful role in drug and clinical trial development.” Jean Holmes, MBA, the Hepatitis B Foundation’s vice president for institutional advancement, said: “All of us at the Hepatitis B Foundation are thrilled that the CTC Foundation has worked with us to commit to five years of support. This is a key contribution to our Leading the Way to a Cure campaign and we are very grateful for their faith and generosity.” The CTC Foundation is a small family organization with roots in the Mid-Atlantic area. Its mission is to promote educational, cultural and scientific endeavors through charitable giving. About Hepatitis B:  A potentially fatal disease caused by the hepatitis B virus, it attacks and injures the liver. Each year up to 1 million people die from hepatitis B worldwide, even though it is preventable and treatable. The number of adults living in the U.S. who have chronic hepatitis B infection may be as high as 2.4 million, which is nearly three times greater than the federal government’s official estimate, according to a new report by a team of public health experts, scientists and physicians. Hepatitis B is a “silent epidemic” because most people do not have symptoms when they are newly or chronically infected. Thus, they can unknowingly infect others and continue the spread of hepatitis B. For people who are chronically infected but don’t have any symptoms, their livers are still being silently damaged, which can develop into serious liver disease such as cirrhosis or liver cancer. About the Hepatitis B Foundation: We are the nation’s leading nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B and improving the quality of life for those affected worldwide through research, education and patient advocacy. Founded in 1991, the Hepatitis B Foundation is based in Doylestown, Pa., with an office in Washington, D.C. To learn more, go to www.hepb.org, read our blog at hepb.org/blog, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@hepbfoundation) or call us at 215-489-4900. To donate, contact Jean Holmes at 215-489-4900 or jean.holmes@hepb.org.

  https://www.hepb.org/news-and-events/news-2/ctc-foundation-of-princeton-donating-100000-to-hepatitis-b-foundation/
• Chronic hepatitis B is far more prevalent among U.S. residents than previously reported

  A new study says about 2.4 million U.S. residents may be infected with the disease. Doylestown, March 10, 2021 – The number of adults living in the U.S. who have chronic hepatitis B infection may be as high as 2.4 million, which is nearly three times greater than the federal government’s official estimate, according to a new analysis by a team of public health experts, scientists and physicians. The authors conducted a meta-analysis, calculating updated prevalence estimates among foreign-born persons in the U.S. by country of birth. A report on the analysis, “An Updated Assessment of Chronic Hepatitis B Prevalence among Foreign-Born Persons Living in the United States,” is published in Hepatology, the journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. The authors combined data from 2,800 published studies, representing 112 million people from 99 countries, and triangulated the data with immigration patterns. The resulting prevalence estimate of up to 2.4 million people living with chronic hepatitis B is almost three times higher than the estimate of 840,000 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a program of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the federal government’s official source for health statistics. “Using our robust study methodology, we believe that 2.4 million is a much more accurate estimate of the number of people living with chronic hepatitis B in the U.S.," Dr. Robert Wong, primary author of the study and clinical associate professor (affiliated), Stanford University School of Medicine, said. "However, the importance of continuing to raise awareness of chronic hepatitis B and the need for more effective implementation of screening and vaccination programs are key to success in our viral hepatitis eradication efforts.”  Dr. Robert Gish, lead study author and medical director of the Hepatitis B Foundation, said: “The NHANES estimate underrepresents foreign-born populations, even though NHANES attempts to oversample Asians. The lack of inclusion of foreign-born, limited English proficient individuals leads to an underestimated prevalence.” The new study suggests that the number of people living with chronic hepatitis B in the U.S. has increased since 2011. Yet diagnosis and treatment rates have not greatly improved over the past decade. According to Chari Cohen, senior vice president of the Hepatitis B Foundation: “Most infected individuals in the U.S. remain undiagnosed and untreated. Risk-based screening guidelines are almost impossible to implement, and we are failing millions of infected people.” The Hepatitis B Foundation called for universal hepatitis B screening in the U.S. in 2018, as the only screening strategy that will help us make progress towards the 2030 goal of eliminating hepatitis B in this country. # # #

  https://www.hepb.org/news-and-events/news-2/chronic-hepatitis-b-is-far-more-prevalent-among-u-s-residents-than-previously-reported/
• Living with Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B Foundation Launches Patient Storytelling Campaign

  National nonprofit creates program to help people living with hepatitis B share their stories DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (Oct. 3 2016)–The Hepatitis B Foundation today announced the launch of a campaign to more effectively share with the public the impact that living with hepatitis B has on individual lives and to put a human face on this serious liver disease. The goal of the Hepatitis B Foundation Patient Storytelling Program is to use the real voices of every-day people living with or affected by hepatitis B to create a national resource of personal stories. The program aims to raise awareness of the disease, decrease the associated stigma and discrimination, and promote the importance of increased testing and referral to care for hepatitis B.Participants will be recruited from across the country and invited to attend a four-day digital storytelling workshop where they will develop their stories as a short video and then complete training to share their story and videos in their own communities and at national advocacy events. The announcement of the new nationwide initiative comes as the United States observes Liver Cancer Awareness Month during October. Chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus is the leading cause of liver cancer worldwide, and liver cancer is the second leading cause of all cancer deaths globally. In the U.S., liver cancer is one of three cancersthatis increasing in incidence while the rates of most other types of cancerare declining or stabilizing. “What better way to acknowledge the burden of the world’s most common, serious liver infection than by creating a program to help people affected by hepatitis B share their stories,” said Joan Block, RN, BSN,executive director and co-founderof the Hepatitis B Foundation. “Our goal is to make hepatitis B an urgent public health priority, and to increase awareness about the enormous impact of this disease on individual lives through personal storytelling.” With educational grants from Arbutus Biopharma, focused on developing new hepatitis B therapeutics, and Dynavax Technologies, focused on developing a new adult hepatitis B vaccine, the Foundation will partner with StoryCenter, a nonprofit organization that started the global digital storytelling movement. The Hepatitis B Foundation Patient Storytelling Program will be completed and ready to share with the public by May 2017, to mark Hepatitis Awareness Month. If you have been impacted by hepatitis B, contact the Hepatitis B Foundation at info@hepb.org or by calling 215-489-4900 to find out how you can share your story. About the Hepatitis B Foundation: The Hepatitis B Foundation is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B and improving the quality of life for those affected worldwide through research, education and patient advocacy.To learn more, go to www.hepb.org, read our blog at www.hepb.org/blog, follow us on Twitter @HepBFoundation, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hepbfoundation or call 215-489-4900. ###

  https://www.hepb.org/news-and-events/news-2/living-with-hepatitis-b-hepatitis-b-foundation-launches-patient-storytelling-campaign/
• Advice for Parents

  Parents face a whole host of issues when making the decision to raise children. A child with hepatitis B presents new challenges, but they are manageable if you are well informed and use common sense. The Hepatitis B Foundation has compiled a list of useful guidelines that may be helpful. Since each family is unique, and each community is different, please adjust your decisions accordingly. Avoid the Spread of Hepatitis B All parents, siblings, and other household members should be vaccinated. Extended family members, childcare providers, family, friends, and others should consider vaccination if they have frequent and close contact with your child. Read more. Know the Facts If people are unfamiliar with hepatitis B, there is a possibility they will become alarmed when told your child has chronic hepatitis B. The key to reducing people's anxiety is to give them clear, simple facts. Hepatitis B is not transmitted casually. It cannot be spread through the sharing of toys, sneezing, coughing, spitting, or hugging. Hepatitis B is spread through blood and infected bodily fluids. Therefore, it could be spread through bites and scratches that result in broken skin. Inform people that there is a safe hepatitis B vaccine and that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all infants and children up to age 18 years be vaccinated.  Know the Risk In making the decision about telling others, be sure to consider whether your child is at high or low risk for exposing others to his or her blood (e.g. consider age, frequency of accidents, nosebleeds, biting, etc.). Consider the degree of risk a person has for exposure (frequent vs. occasional contact), and whether a person or child may have already been vaccinated. Although there is no specific law that addresses hepatitis B, the Americans with Disabilities Act (1991) is a federal law that may protect children and adults with hepatitis B from discrimination. Telling Others Use common sense in deciding who you should tell about your child's hepatitis B. Once you tell, you can't take it back. So take your time and choose wisely as you decide who can be trusted with this information. Fortunately, most children are now vaccinated against hepatitis B, so the risk of your child infecting others is reduced. Most states also require the hepatitis B vaccine for school entry. Although you do not necessarily have a "duty" to inform people of your child's hepatitis B, there may be situations where it is wise to disclose your child's diagnosis. If possible, give literature to reinforce your facts. The Hepatitis B Foundation publishes free educational literature that you can request to give other parents, teachers, or school nurses. Visit Our Resources. What Should You Say? Know your facts, use simple explanations, and remain calm. Emphasize that your child is healthy and poses no risk if blood accidents are handled carefully. Remind people (and health care providers) that blood is a two-way street. Other children may have unknown infections that can be spread to your child, therefore, the blood of all children should be handled carefully. In addition, the hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all infants and children up to 18 years. Therefore, most children should already be vaccinated and protected against hepatitis B. Universal Precautions The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that everyone use "universal precautions" for any accident. This means that the blood and bodily fluids of all adults and children should be treated as if it is potentially infectious. Universal precautions (or "standard precautions") should be followed for ALL accidents, not just the blood of those with known chronic hepatitis B infection. Cleaning Up Blood Spills Avoid direct contact with blood, vomit, diarrhea and other bodily secretions, and ensure that others will not come into contact with them either. Clean all spills with a diluted solution of bleach (mix one part fresh household bleach with nine parts water). Discard cleaning materials into a plastic bag and tie securely. Dispose of properly in the garbage can. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. PKIDs Pediatric Hepatitis Report Additional information for parents can be found in the Pediatric Hepatitis Report, which is the first-ever, comprehensive resource about children living with hepatitis B and C. Information about hepatitis B, from transmission to diagnosis, to treatment and civil rights protections is included in this excellent publication. It is published by the national non-profit PKIDs (Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases).    

  https://www.hepb.org/treatment-and-management/children-with-hepatitis-b/advice-for-parents/
• Baruch S. Blumberg Institute Recruits World-Class Hepatitis B Scientists

  ‘All-star’ researchers intend to develop breakthrough therapies for the viral liver infection within 3 years DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (March 2015) – The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (www.blumberginstitute.org) has recruited a new team of nationally renowned scientists to focus exclusively on research to develop a cure for hepatitis B, a move that nearly triples its research capacity and has created the largest concentration of nonprofit scientists focusing solely on hepatitis B and liver cancer in the United States. Four principal scientists – Drs. Timothy Block, Jinhong Chang, Ju Tao Guo and Ying-Hsiu Su – and 16 of their staff members and laboratory researchers joined the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute full-time on March 1. Establishing this first-rate scientific team of leading hepatitis B researchers lays the groundwork to support an aggressive plan to develop breakthrough therapies to combat the virus within the next three years. “By bringing leading researchers in the field together at its headquarters, the Hepatitis B Foundation, through its research arm, the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, is able to concentrate their joint efforts to finding new treatments and, ultimately, a cure,” said Joel Rosen, Chairman of the Foundation’s board. “In the twelve years that I have been a member of the foundation’s board of directors, I have never been more optimistic that a cure is within reach. It’s an exciting time for everyone involved.” The researchers will build upon recent discoveries that have accelerated the momentum for developing a cure for hepatitis B and liver cancer. Those breakthroughs include the development of new screening methods to search for effective drugs, new ways to treat hepatitis B using different approaches to shut down the virus, a new blood biomarker that aids in the early detection of liver cancer, and a promising drug that selectively kills liver cancer cells in animal studies. “This is an incredibly exciting time in hepatitis B research, with the field poised to develop a cure. The Blumberg Institute is fortunate to have attracted Tim Block and his colleagues, positioning the nonprofit institute to maintain its world-class stature in hepatitis research,” said Dr. Tom Shenk, one of the nation’s leading virologists, a professor at Princeton University, and a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Block co-founded the Hepatitis B Foundation and is the president of the Blumberg Institute. For years, he has donated his time to both nonprofit entities, working full-time as a professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Drexel University College of Medicine, where he was Director of the Drexel Institute for Biotechnology and Virology Research. He has left that post in order to dedicate all of his time and focus to the work of the Blumberg Institute. “The years that we all have spent working towards a cure for hepatitis B have laid the groundwork for this final phase,” said Block. “We are committing everything we have, every resource at our disposal, to developing the therapies that will improve the lives of the millions of people worldwide who live with the hepatitis B virus every day, as well as the risk of dying prematurely from its most fatal consequence, liver cancer.” With promising drugs in the research pipeline, the Hepatitis B Foundation and the Blumberg Institute have begun exploring relationships with companies that can take those discoveries from the lab to the clinic, where they can benefit people worldwide. “The fact that Dr. Tim Block and other world-class scientists have chosen to join the Blumberg Institute in its drive to find a cure for hepatitis B speaks volumes about the Institute’s cutting-edge science and potential to impact global health,” said Wayne Yetter, former president and CEO of the multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis U.S. and a recent addition to the Hepatitis B Foundation’s Board of Directors. In addition to the exciting implications for the world of science and medicine, the new jobs created at the Blumberg Institute are a welcome boost to the local and regional economy of Bucks County and southeast Pennsylvania. "The Blumberg Institute's recruitment of four world-class scientists and their staff, including Dr. Timothy Block, is great news for this community,” said Bucks County state Sen. Charles McIlhinney, a longtime supporter of the organization. “The Blumberg Institute, which manages and is located at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, has been responsible for breakthrough discoveries coupled with spectacular jobs and company creation, right here in Bucks County. This is the kind of growth we need.”

  https://www.hepb.org/news-and-events/baruch-s-blumberg-institute-recruits-world-class-hepatitis-b-scientists/