Act Now: Hepatitis Awareness Week and World Hepatitis Day 2024

Hepatitis Awareness Week runs from 22-28 July, with World Hepatitis Day on 28 July. This year’s theme, ‘It’s time for action,’ focuses on liver health. Your liver performs over 500 vital functions, but hepatitis B and C can damage it, especially if undiagnosed and untreated.

In Australia, over 200,000 people live with chronic hepatitis B, many unaware they have the virus. Hepatitis B is preventable with a vaccine and manageable with regular checkups. The only way to know if you have hepatitis B is by getting tested.

‘Early diagnosis is essential. Many may not realise they have chronic hepatitis B until it's too late. Prompt testing and treatment are our best defences,’ says Kristen McKee, Hepatology Clinical Nurse Consultant at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Multilingual resources for you and your community

The Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS) campaign, ‘Are You Living with Hepatitis B? Find Out. Get Tested,’ targets communities with lower testing rates, including Chinese, Arabic, Korean, Samoan, Tongan, Vietnamese, and sub-Saharan African communities. The campaign offers free multilingual brochures, posters, and videos on the MHAHS website and in print.

‘Our goal is to enable communities to make informed health decisions. We encourage everyone to talk to their healthcare provider about hepatitis B testing,’ says Barbara Luisi, Director of MHAHS. Testing is free for Medicare cardholders. For those without a Medicare Card, contact NSW Health Sexual Health Clinics for free testing. All conversations with your doctor are confidential.

Act now. Get tested! Spread the word about hepatitis testing and treatment. Download the MHAHS multilingual Hepatitis Awareness Week 2024 toolkit with resources, messages, and social media tools to share.

For more information about the campaign, visit here. For general inquiries, call the Hepatitis NSW Infoline on 1800 803 990.