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NYC Asian American Hepatitis B Project Receives $2.6 M Successive Grant From New York City

Project Findings Show Asian American New Yorkers Have a High Burden of Hepatitis B Infection

NEW YORK, August 9, 2005 –The Center for the Study of Asian American Health at New York University School of Medicine, the central coordinating agency for the NYC Asian American Hepatitis B Program has received a total of $2.6 million to continue its work in screening, educating, vaccinating, and treating Asian Americans in New York City for hepatitis B. $1.7 million of the grant is from the New York City Council with the remainder as matching funds from the New York State and City Departments of Health. The Program is a made up of a coalition of healthcare and community-based organizations across the city.

The Program’s Administrative Principal Investigator is Mariano Rey, M.D., Director of the Centers for Health Disparities Research at NYU School of Medicine. The other principal investigators are: Henry Pollack, M.D., Assistant Professor, Alex Sherman, M.D., Clinical Professor; Hillel Tobias, M.D., Clinical Professor; and Thomas Tsang, M.D., Clinical Instructor, all faculty members at NYU School of Medicine.

The grant will extend the efforts of this successful collaboration as the Program in its first year tested more than 1,800 New Yorkers and found that about 50 percent of those tested required referral for vaccination or follow-up care. Results confirm that there is a high burden of hepatitis B infection in the Asian American community in New York.

The Program also placed great emphasis on prevention and awareness as thousands were educated about the virus through a campaign that incorporated radio programs and community workshops

Over 800,000 Asian Americans live in New York City, and many are recent immigrants from countries where hepatitis B is endemic. Chronic infection with hepatitis B is the leading cause of liver cancer worldwide, and without treatment or monitoring one out of four people who carry the virus will eventually die of liver failure or liver cancer. It is estimated that about 300 million to 350 million people worldwide are chronically infected. Most of these people are Asian.

Hepatitis B can be transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse, sharing of needles, contact with infected blood, or from mother to child at birth, which is the main transmission route for the majority of Asians infected with Hepatitis B. There is an effective vaccine, which will prevent infection, and treatments are available for people who are chronically infected, but the virus can remain dormant for decades without causing symptoms. Consequently, many people do not realize they are infected and do not seek treatment.

In the coming year, the Program plans to conduct at least 2,000 more screenings and to expand into the Vietnamese community where liver cancer due to hepatitis B is a common cause of death. The program will also continue to screen in the Chinese and Korean communities.

The Asian American Hepatitis B Program is a community-based initiative whose educational and screening partners include the American Cancer Society, American Liver Foundation, Bellevue Hospital Center, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, Chinese Community Partnership for Health at NY Downtown Hospital, Community Healthcare Network, Gouverneur Healthcare Services, Korean Community Services and NYU School of Medicine’s Center for the Study of Asian American Health.

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