way to prevent deaths from liver cancer is to identify chronic HBV individuals early enough for treatment. Statistics Global statistics 350-400 million people worldwide have chronic HBV infection (compare with 40 million living with HIV) Without appropriate treatment or monitoring, 1 in 4 people with chronic HBV will die of liver cancer, cirrhosis or liver failure. HBV takes a million lives a year in the world. HBV is second only to tobacco in causing the most cancer deaths worldwide. 80% of primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) is caused by chronic HBV infection. HBV is preventable with a vaccine available for over 25 years. United States statistics HBV is the biggest health disparity between Asian American and White Americans. 10% of Asian Americans are chronically infected versus less than 0.3% of the general population. 1.4 million people are chronically infected in US and more than half are Asian. Liver cancer incidence is 6 - 13 times higher for Asians. Liver cancer mortality remains higher than other cancers despite advances in research and medical technology: There are more HBsAg-positive (chronically infected with HBV) API women than women of other ethnicities: API population has increased 4x since 1980 (14.4 million in 2002) Foreign born API: 2.5 million in 1980 and 8.3 million in 2002 75% came from countries with chronic HBV rates of 8-15% APIs tend to live in large households; 20% live with 5 or more people Many API seek medical treatments from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners. No routine blood tests and medical check-ups. Under-reporting of both acute and chronic HBV infection. Federal ACIP guidelines recommending that universal infant vaccination against HBV at birth, regardless of the mother's HBV status were implemented in November 1991. China statistics 1/3 of the world's chronic HBV patients live in China. 130 million Chinese (1 in 10) have chronic HBV. In one day, 3 times more people die of HBV than the entire SARS outbreak. In two years, fewer than 10 people have died from avian flu in China. HBV kills 500,000 mainland Chinese each year (50% of global deaths). Comparing HBV with HIV/AIDS in mainland China: Rates of hepatitis B infection Chronic HBV infection rates in US and Western Europe (lowest): 0.1-0.5% Chronic HBV infection rates in Asia, Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa: 10% (5-20%) Chronic HBV infection rates in API Americans: 7% (approximately 840,000) Foreign born API: 9% (range 5-15%) US born API: 1.4%