Overview

AAPCHO issues response to CDC report that acute viral hepatitis cases are declining (April 2007)

AAPCHO Response to CDC Declining Hepatitis Rates

Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report claiming that acute viral hepatitis cases are at their lowest levels ever, hepatitis B continues to be one of the larger public health threats facing this country and a disease that impacts the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community at alarming rates.

While we applaud the success that CDC has had in lowering acute viral hepatitis A, B and C rates among children in this country from 1995-2005, we caution that this seemingly good news masks the fact that chronic hepatitis B rates among adults remains high; more than 100,000 people were infected with viral hepatitis in 2005 alone.

Currently, there are nearly 2 billion hepatitis B carriers globally, with residents of Asia and the Pacific Islands accounting for approximately 275 million of those chronically infected with HBV. In the United States, it is estimated that 1 in 10 AAPIs (or approximately 1.4 million AAPIs) are hepatitis B carriers. Hepatitis B, which remains among the most common infectious diseases in the U.S., attacks the liver and can often result in serious complications such as cirrhosis, liver cancer and death.

If these figures indicate anything, it is that while CDC has enjoyed success with “acute” cases of hepatitis B, “chronic” cases, or those instances where individuals have no symptoms and are unknowingly carrying the virus and spreading it to unvaccinated individuals, is still an enormous problem.

Though adults are most likely to acquire new hepatitis B infections there are few programs that deliver the hepatitis B vaccine to these individuals who are at risk. Immunization programs for adults, that rival those developed for children are vital if we are to make inroads and reduce chronic hepatitis B cases.

In addition to federally supported adult immunization programs, there is a desperate need for a national hepatitis B surveillance system and adequate financial resources for local, state and national programs so they may immediately target at-risk adults.

While we certainly commend CDC’s progress, we encourage the agency to engage in concerted efforts to reduce chronic hepatitis B rates for adults who continue to be afflicted by this disease.

Jeffrey B. Caballero, MPH
Executive Director
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations

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