Hepatitis C Information

May marks Hepatitis Awareness Month, hepatitis is a condition of liver inflammation that is a group of viral infections that affect the liver. In the United States, hepatitis is most commonly caused by Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C viruses. According to the CDC, an estimated 4.4 million Americans are living with chronic hepatitis; most do not know they are infected. I would like to take this opportunity to share resources and information about Hepatitis C also known as HCV.

In the AIDS Library

Here are some titles that are available in the Library.

• The Hepatitis C Handbook, by Matthew Dolan
• Hepatitis C, The First Year: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed (2nd Edition), by Cara Bruce and Lisa Montanarelli
• Dr Melissa Palmer’s Guide to Hepatitis & Liver Disease, by Melissa Palmer
• HCV/HIV Coinfection Information, by the American Liver Foundation

Information for People Living with Hepatitis C

For basic information see,

• What I Need to Know about Hepatitis C, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases – with easy-to-read text. It is also available in Spanish here.
• Hepatitis C – an interactive tutorial, from the Patient Education Institute. It is also available in Spanish here.
• Patient Education Resources, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for printer-friendly color materials.
• Newly Diagnosed: Hepatitis C, from the American Liver Foundation – a comprehensive, printer-friendly guide.
• First Steps with HCV for the Newly Diagnosed, from the HCV Advocate

People with further questions can call 877-HELP-4-HEP, a national support line from The Support Partnership (TSP), a collaboration of four national Hepatitis C organizations. For information on HCV treatment, see

• Treatment Factsheets from HCV Advocate
• Herbal Dietary Supplements Glossary, from HCV Advocate
• Hepatitis-related drug medication information, from DailyMed of the National Library of Medicine

For help paying for treatment, see Project Inform’s list of Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) For specific issues  for people living with HCV, see:

• Hepatitis & Tattoos, from the Hepatitis C Support Project
• Diet and Nutrition for people living with HCV, from the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
• Alcohol and Hepatitis C, from the DVA
• Vaccinations of Adults with Hepatitis C Infection, from the Immunization Action Coalition

For HCV information related to specific populations, see:

• African Americans and Hepatitis C, from HCV Advocate
• Viral Hepatitis: Information for Gay and Bisexual Men, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

For information about HIV/HCV coinfection, see

• A Guide to Hepatitis C for People Living with HIV, from Treatment Action Group – printer-friendly, with statistical information
• HIV, Hepatitis C, and You, from The Body – colorful, printer-friendly, and contains stories from people living with an HIV/HCV coinfection
• A Guide to HIV and Hep C Coinfection, from the Hepatitis C Support Project – colorful, printable, and aimed at patients
• HIV and Viral Hepatitis, from the CDC – including statistical info

For HCV info in language other than English, see

• A enormous amount of info in Spanish, from HCV Advocate
• Multilingual HIV and Hepatitis C Factsheets, from Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service – in Akan, Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Chinese, Croatian, Greek, French, Indonesian, Italian, Khmer, Korean, Macedonian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Shona, Somali, Swahili, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese
• Multilingual Hepatitis Health Information Handouts, from the Refugee Health Information Network – in Arabic, Burmese, Chinese, French, Hmong, Karen, Korean, Kreyol, Portuguese, Russian, Somalia, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese
• Foreign Language Publications, also from HCV Advocate, in Bulgarian, Chinese, French, Hmong, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Somali
• HCV Info in Urdu, from the Hepatitis Trust in the United Kingdom

For issues around benefits, see A Guide to Hepatitis & Disability, from the Hepatitis C Support Project For personal stories about HCV, see:

• HCV Advocate’s Personal Stories
• The Hepatitis C Trust’s Personal Stories
• Hepatitis Australia’s Treatment, Life, Hep C, and Me

Research, Provider Information, and More

To follow clinical research and other HCV news, see

• Hepatitis Clinical Studies Around the World, from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
• NAM AIDSmap’s Hepatitis C news page
• Hepatitis C Research and News
• HIVandHepatitis.com, for news focusing on co-infection
• Recent News in HCV Care, from Project Inform

For statistics, see:

• Hepatitis C Statistics and Surveillance, from the CDC – for in-depth statistics
• Hepatitis C FAQs for Health Professionals – for a narrative that puts those statistics in context

For provider information, see:

• Viral Hepatitis Action Plan (2014-2016), a comprehensive printer-friendly cross-agency action plan from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Justice (DOJ), and Veterans Affairs
• Free, Online CME Course for Primary Care Providers, from ACT-First a collaboration between the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), American College of Physicians, DVA , CDC, and Project ECHO, a course aimed at improving primary care physicians’ knowledge of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
• HIV & Hepatitis Coinfections: Management & Treatment Guidelines, from the Hepatitis C Support Project
• Considerations for Antiretroviral Use in Patients with HIV/HCV Coinfection, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Testing Recommendations for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection, from the CDC

For prevention with certain populations, see:

• Viral Hepatitis And Men Who Have Sex with Men, from the CDC
• Injection Drug Users and Viral Hepatitis, from the CDC

National Hepatitis Testing Day: May 19, 2014

National Hepatitis Testing Day is on May 19th.  The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention National Prevention Information Network allows you to search for hepatitis testing events in your area or register testing events to help build hepatitis testing resources here.

HCV Testing Locations in Philadelphia

Below is a listing of locations in Philadelphia where individuals can be tested.

• 11th Street Family Health Services of Drexel University
• Baker Industries
• BEBASHI: Transition to Hope
• Fairmount Primary Care
• Family Practice & Counseling Network Health Annex
• Hunting Park Health Ctr.
• Latino Commission on AIDS
• Lax Center at Philadelphia FIGHT
• Mary Howard Health Center
• Prevention Point Philadelphia
• St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children – Division of Adolescent Medicine
• TPAC (Philadelphia AIDS Consortium)
• Veteran Affairs Medical Center
• Mazzoni Center (809 Locust location)
• Y-HEP (testing available for people up to 24 years of age)

Information regarding addresses, testing hours, walk-ins/appointment guidelines, and contact information for the above locations is available by clicking the Search Resources tab on the AIDS Library website.