The Hepatitis B Foundation is the world’s leading hepatitis B nonprofit and the most active proponent of improving screening, prevention, and treatment of the disease.
Chari A Cohen, Dr.P.H., M.P.H.
President, Hepatitis B Foundation
Why get vaccinated against hepatitis B (HBV)? Simply put, it’s a stealthy virus responsible for a silent, global epidemic. Chronic hepatitis B infection shows no symptoms until a person becomes seriously ill. Plus, if someone is infected with hepatitis B and doesn’t get treated, the disease often leads to cirrhosis and ultimately liver cancer, which is one of the deadliest cancers.
Worldwide, almost 300 million people are living with a chronic hep B infection. It’s the world’s leading cause of liver cancer and is a preventable virus that kills more than 1 million people each year. In the United States, about 2.4 million are living with hep B, and liver cancer kills about 30,000 Americans annually.
Alan’s story
Alan, a TV journalist in Northern California, is one of those Americans living with hepatitis B. Many in his family died from liver cancer, including three uncles, but it wasn’t until Alan himself became ill and was diagnosed with hepatitis B that they realized the virus was the culprit.
Alan sought treatment for his hep B infection almost 20 years ago, and it has been quite successful. He and his wife, Jill, are raising three children, so Alan is determined to take the best possible care of his health, and his outlook is bright.
“When they did an MRI a few years ago, my doctor said, ‘This is amazing! Your liver has now regenerated itself because we have suppressed the virus and it’s now a smooth, healthy liver with no scarring,’” Alan says.
When the terrible impact of the disease on his family and the Asian American community became clear to Alan, he embraced the mission of raising awareness. To help spread the word about hepatitis B prevention and the need for testing and early treatment, Alan became a vocal advocate and one of the first to join the Hepatitis B Foundation’s #justB storytelling campaign in 2017. We now have more than 135 storytellers in 17 countries, mostly people living with HBV, sharing their experiences in compelling and very personal videos.
“We’re not just trying to cure cancer; we’re trying to prevent it before it happens!” he says. “The biggest battle is ignorance among patients and doctors.”
Alan’s story reminds us that a hepatitis B diagnosis is not, as he says, “a death sentence,” and with persistence and medical care, people with hep B can live a full and healthy life.
The world’s first anti-cancer vaccine
The hep B virus is the second-leading known human carcinogen, after tobacco, because it leads to so many cancer deaths. This means that the hep B vaccine is the world’s first anti-cancer vaccine.
The hep B vaccine is considered one of the safest and most effective vaccines ever produced, and it has been studied rigorously for many decades. Over 1 billion doses of the hep B vaccine have been given worldwide, preventing over 38 million deaths in the past 40 years. In the United States, before infants were routinely given the hep B vaccine at birth, nearly 18,000 children a year were infected (9,000 of these were infected at birth). Since universal infant vaccination began in the early 1990s, childhood and adolescent hep B infections in the country have dropped by 98%. That’s a lot of children protected and lives saved!
Another key consideration is testing. Of the 2.4 million people in the United States who are chronically infected, only 25% of them know it. Without diagnosis and proper treatment, those with chronic hepatitis B are at significantly increased risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Plus, U.S. hepatitis B cases have been rising in recent years, up 11% between 2014 and 2018.
Anyone who is not protected can get a hep B infection. Recent datas show that over half of all newly infected people in the United States have no known risk factors. In the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new testing guidelines issued in 2024, the agency said that everyone 18 and older should be tested for hep B during their routine blood work.
We’re hopeful that our country is on the path to eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030, which is a goal set by the World Health Organization and one embraced by the Hepatitis B Foundation. Combined with the CDC recommendation for universal vaccination for all adults ages 19-59, the new screening guidelines are a significant step toward preventing new infections and helping diagnose those who have hep B, so that they can begin treatment to prevent liver cancer.
Treating hepatitis B
Curing hepatitis B remains a tough challenge because the virus embeds its genetic material into liver cells unlike any other known pathogen. Despite more than 60 years of research, there is still no cure for hepatitis B. However, in the past two decades, effective treatments have become available.
Current antiviral therapies can dramatically reduce the viral load in the blood to nearly undetectable levels. This not only helps manage symptoms but also significantly lowers the risk of liver cancer.
Many scientists worldwide — including at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, our research arm — are actively working to develop new and improved hepatitis B treatments with the ultimate goal of finding a cure for hepatitis B.
The Hepatitis B Foundation has numerous resources for people living with hepatitis B, as well as for healthcare providers and scientists. Our website has a Drug Watch with the latest news about the treatment research pipeline, a physician directory to help those living with hepatitis B and their caregivers find qualified medical care, and hundreds of #justB storytelling videos in over 16 languages. Our patient helpline, 215-489-4900 and [email protected], is another resource we offer.
