UC Davis

Objective

Without medical intervention, about one-quarter of the 1.4-2.2 million Americans chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) will die of HBV-associated conditions, including liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. We report on a program in Sacramento County, California, that offered HBV screening to at-risk adults, referred infected individuals to care, and vaccinated uninfected adults who were susceptible to HBV infection (i.e., individuals who tested negative for hepatitis B surface antigen and who were never vaccinated against HBV).

Methods

We engaged organizations linked to Chinese, Hmong, Korean, and Vietnamese communities to cosponsor HBV screenings of Asian Americans as part of the Hepatitis Testing and Linkage to Care initiative, which promoted viral hepatitis B and hepatitis C screening, posttest counseling, and linkage to care at 34 U.S. sites. We held 28 hepatitis B community screening events throughout Sacramento County, California, in collaboration with these groups from September 2012 to September 2013.

Results

We screened 1,004 Asian American adults (i.e., 283 Koreans, 242 Chinese, 233 Vietnamese, 223 Hmong, and 23 people from other Asian communities) for HBV, of whom 98% were foreign born and 87% had a language preference other than English. Of the 76 participants who tested positive for HBV (31 Hmong, 23 Vietnamese, 17 Chinese, two Koreans, and three from other Asian communities), we provided posttest counseling to 51 participants.

Conclusion

By collaborating with community groups and addressing barriers to screening, we highlighted the importance of disaggregating chronic HBV infection rates by Asian ethnicity and sex vs. aggregated Asian American rates. Future HBV screening initiatives should target Hmong and Vietnamese men.