Hepatitis in Asia
Worldwide, there are about 350 million people who are infected with chronic hepatitis B virus. About 78 percent, or 275 million people, of those individuals reside in Asia or the Pacific Islands, according to Stanford University’s Asian Liver Center.
Lifelong infection with hepatitis B can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. About one million people die each year from liver cancer or liver failure caused by hepatitis B. That’s the equivalent of 2,800 deaths per day.
Key Programs We Support:
China has the highest incidence of the disease, with an estimated 170 million people with lifelong infections. With only about four percent of those affected reportedly receiving treatment, each year about 300,000 Chinese die from hepatitis B.
In India, the prevalence of hepatitis B is between four to six percent. While a great emphasis has been placed in India on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, HIV prevalence is about 0.3 percent, or just about a tenth of the prevalence of the hepatitis B virus in t he country.
There are about 1.2 million people in Japan, or one percent of the population, infected with hepatitis B. An effort to increase awareness and testing, while reducing the stigma of the disease, requires coordination with a second growing health problem related to another sexually transmitted disease, HIV/AIDS.
The main infection route for the virus is sexual transmission. There is an urgent need for early detection. However due to stigma and a lack of education in Japan, people tend not to take tests early enough and remain untreated.
Despite the availability of the hepatitis B vaccine, children worldwide remain unvaccinated and are at risk for liver cancer and liver failure. And, many adults may be chronic carriers.
Current efforts to address hepatitis B and C in Asia are focused on raising awareness of hepatitis B in countries such as India, China and Japan. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has been working in Asia to support a variety of disease education and vaccination efforts, as well as prevention of mother-to-child transmissions, which are the most common means of transmission.
More work is required and is expected to focus on building health care capacity in partnership with local nonprofit organizations, governments and the medical community.
Anti-Discrimination Programs for Migrant Workers with Hepatitis in China
Raising awareness in the labor force, especially among migrant workers, is critical. A $500,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb grant over two years focuses on anti-discrimination and prevention in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong province in southern China, a major manufacturing center with more than 20 million migrant workers.
The Foundation’s grant to the Asia Pacific Alliance against AIDS, TB and Malaria of Female Wa will help develop a program, in partnership with the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control, Renmin University and a number of other nonprofit groups, that will represent the first such comprehensive on and off-site workplace hepatitis awareness, education and prevention project.
Although the Chinese government has policies that aim to protect infected migrant workers in southern China, a population that experiences a disproportionately high rate of hepatitis virus carriers (more than 13 percent) – these workers often find their status a barrier to employment and a cause for prejudice.
Most employers refuse to hire individuals with hepatitis B or C if discovered during health examinations prior to signing employment contracts. In response, the Alliance and its partners are developing new tools, including the creation of a “Workers Capacity Building Center on Public Health” in Guangzhou to help migrants learn more about the disease and help them to better cope with their condition.
A multi-media educational campaign for factory managers shows better ways to address hepatitis in the workplace. For those who need additional health information assistance, the program will include toll-free help lines, text messaging systems and websites. We hope to reach some 4.65 million migrant workers.
Hepatitis B Awareness in Shanghai
The Shanghai Charity Foundation, working with the Shanghai Center for Disease Control, will use a $371,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation grant to develop awareness programs for 200,000 people, including migrant workers, high risk groups in both urban and factory areas, school children and teachers, and hepatitis patients and their families.
In Shanghai, the hepatitis infection rate is nearly seven percent. In other words, about 1.25 million people are infected with hepatitis B virus.
The overall incidence of hepatitis in Shanghai is reported to be on the decline, but populations still at risk include service sector employees, migrant workers, farming communities, retirees and the unemployed.
The Shanghai Charity Foundation is developing a program to increase awareness for high-risk communities. The initiative includes educational materials, home-based care and free diagnosis sessions.