Office of Viral Hepatitis Coordination February 2010 ~ NYC Viral Hepatitis E-Resource

NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

Office of Viral Hepatitis Coordination

February 2010 ~ NYC Viral Hepatitis E-Resource

If you have trouble viewing this email, see it online in the NYC HCV Task Force Google Group under “files” http://groups.google.com/group/nyc-hep-c-task-force



February is Black History Month, commemorating and honoring the African Diaspora experience. Hepatitis B and C are endemic in Africa, parts of South American and much of the Caribbean - Global Maps: Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. According to the Office of Minority Health, African-Americans continue to be disproportionately affected by viral hepatitis and subsequent health problems as compared to the general population.

A single bracelet doesn’t jingle – African Proverb. Let’s join together to improve health for all people affected by viral hepatitis through research and education; awareness and advocacy; increased prevention interventions; early identification of disease; and improved access to and provision of quality medical care and treatment.

§ Information on Hepatitis B.

§ Information on Hepatitis C. Book: The African American Guide to Hepatitis C.

§ Your Guide to Better Health ~ Ralph Lauren and Memorial Sloan Kettering guide focusing on African American health and cancer prevention.


Contents of E-Resource

Upcoming Events

News

New Resources, Education & Training

Funding & Jobs

Hepatitis B & C Coalitions, Task Forces & Patient Groups


Upcoming Events

* HCV Advocacy Subcommittee Meeting. HCV Task Force Project. February 11th (10 -12). Harm Reduction Coalition, 22 W. 27th Street , 5th Floor, New York . All people interested in HCV advocacy are encouraged to get involved. To join: njohnso2@health.nyc.gov.
* Queens Hepatitis C Task Force Meeting now a sub-group of the monthly Queens Consortium on Substance Abuse & Alcoholism Committee. February 17th (3-5). Queens Borough Hall 120-55 Queens Blvd , Queens , NY 11415 ~ Room 213.
* Capacity Building Workshop: State Level Advocacy Institute. Coalition for Asian American Children and Families . February 18th (9:30 – 1 PM). Location TBD. Focus on: State budget process, how laws are made, effective advocacy skills and strategies to support the Asian Pacific American community. RSVP to Elizabeth Lee at elee@cacf.org.
* Navigating Medicaid & Medicare: Hepatitis B & C Special Issues 2 Part Training. 1st Day February 25tth and 2nd day April 12th. 26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan , 10278. HCV Task Force & HBV Coalition Project in partnership with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Training will provide information, support, and resources to help health providers and benefits specialists overcome obstacles involved in helping HBV & HCV patients within the Medicaid, Medicare, and Managed Care Systems, as well as access resources the under and un-insured. To register: Frank.Winter@cms.hhs.gov.
* March 3rd HCV Advocacy Trip to Albany! A fun and high impact group advocacy trip to the offices of key elected officials. Trip is open to all types of HCV advocates. Register now with NYS HCV Advocacy leader Shari Foster of Status C Unknown!
* Hepatitis B Coalition Meeting. March 11th (3 – 5:30). Location TBD.
* New York State Department of Health 2010 Hepatitis C Conference. Includes HBV sessions. March 16th (8AM – 4PM). City University of New York Graduate Center , 365 Fifth Avenue , Manhattan . Scholarships are available. Register now!
* Syringe Access Services & Law Enforcement Training. Harm Reduction Coalition, with Narelle Ellendon . March 16th (10 – 5 PM). Register Online.
* 25th Annual New Treatments in Chronic Liver Disease conference. March 27th-28th, San Diego .
* 1st Annual Peer Delivered Syringe Exchange Worker Conference. Planned for March, 2010. Purpose: Networking, sharing best practices, improving work conditions and reducing risk, education, empowerment and mobilization. For more information: ellendon@harmreduction.org.
* Preventing Hepatitis and STDs in MSM Communities Training. New Jersey Department of Health. April 27, 2010 (8:30am-4pm) Voorhees , NJ or May 26, 2010 (8:30am-4pm) Livingston , NJ .
* May is Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month! Plan an awareness event at your organization!
* World Hepatitis Day! May 19th 2010
* Save the Date! May 20th Mid-morning Viral Hepatitis Awareness Legislative Breakfast
* 6th International HIV and Hepatitis Co-infection Workshop. May 31st – June 2nd. Tel Aviv , Israel . Virology Education.
* Liver Life Walk. American Liver Foundation. June 6th, Battery Park City . This is a beautiful event to participate in together as a group in order to generate awareness and celebrate our work! Join the NYC Viral Hepatitis Task Force Team!
* 5th International Workshop on Hepatitis C, Resistance and New Compounds. June 24-25th, 2010. Boston .

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News

* Thank you! NY Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and NY Congressman Ed Towns are co-sponsoring the Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Control and Prevention Act of 2009!

- Call your elected official to request that they sponsor this bill! To find out who your elected official is and how to call, go to: www.Congress.org.

* IOM Urges Action on Hepatitis. The public health community is not doing enough to deal with hepatitis B and C, according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The viruses are under-recognized public health problems that require more resources for prevention and control. (link to full IOM report in New Resources below)

* NVHR Offers Congressman Hank Johnson Support & Encouragement as He Battles Chronic Hepatitis C Virus

* The second epistle of Saint Bill. The GAVI Alliance to promote vaccination, which got going ten years ago with donations from Bill Gates, has inoculated more than 192m children against hepatitis B … (The Economist)
* Report: Hepatitis B, C overlooked (USA Today -- News)
* Hepatitis C hits Baby Boomers hard (Newsweek)
* Hepatitis D is considered to be the most severe form of viral hepatitis in humans and represents a major health burden in certain areas of the world. (Nature News Service)
* Living Donor Stories Spur Increase in Liver Donation (CME/CE). A liver transplantation education campaign for waitlisted candidates that included real stories about living donors dramatically increased donation rates by friends and families.
* How I learned that syringe exchange really works on the mean streets of the South Bronx! Bailey House Newsletter Article about Citiwide Harm Reduction Syringe Exchange Outreach Program.
* Clean, dirty beaches tracked. Hepatiis A in the water. (MSNBC -- Environment)
* The Claim: Milk Thistle Is Good for the Liver. New York Times.

Research News

* Antiviral Fights Multitude of Viruses? Researchers have teamed up to develop and test a broad-spectrum antiviral compound capable of stopping a wide range of highly dangerous viruses, including hepatitis C virus.. (Science Daily)
* Blocking Key Protein in Mice Helps Them Resist Viral Infection. (Science Daily)
* Potential New Class of Drugs to Combat Hepatitis C Identified. Stanford University School of Medicine. (Science Daily)
* Tree Shrew Offers Small-Animal Model of Hepatitis C Virus Infection. Researchers from Japan suggest that the tree shrew may be a practical small-animal model for studying the progression of (HCV) infection ... (Science Daily)
* Energy of Attacking Virus Revealed It has long been thought that liver disease in hepatitis C patients is caused by the patient's immune system attacking the infected liver, ultimately killing the cells…(Science Daily)
* Liver Stiffness Measurements Identify Patients With Rapid or Slow Fibrosis (Science Daily)
* An Infant with Developmental Delay and Irritability. During pregnancy, a diagnosis of maternal hepatitis C virus infection was made… ( New England Journal of Medicine)
* Technique for Preserving Pre-Transplant Livers Improves Outcomes and Organ Pool (Science Daily)

World News

* Haiti children are high risk are hepatitis A and E, typhoid fever and diarrhoeal diseases, which are made worse by lack of water. (BBC News -- Health)
* Haiti Docs Scramble to Save Lives Hepatitis, HIV and Tuberculosis are very common in Haiti . (CBS News -- World)
* Ghana : Bimbilla hospital "cries" for infrastructure assistance Hepatitis "B" situation is on the increase. ( Ghana Web , Ghana )
* Japan : Dialysis-linked hepatitis C spread alarming 2 percent of patients who underwent dialysis in 2001 were infected with the hepatitis C virus.. (Yahoo News -- Hepatitis)
* Tainted Food Surprisingly Deadly in Adults: WHO. Older children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to severe illness from major food- and water-borne diseases such as salmonella, listeria, E. coli, Hepatitis A and cholera. (MEDLINEplus)
* From Latvia, With Muscles As a kid, Maris was diagnosed with Hepatitis. It left him scrawny and weak -which is why a movie called "Hercules" struck him. (CBS News)

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New Resources

* IOM Report Release: Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: A National Strategy for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis B and C.
* Public health impact of antiviral therapy for hepatitis C in the United States. Hepatology, 2009
* Getting the message straight: effects of a brief hepatitis prevention intervention among injection drug users. Harm Reduction Journal, 2009.
* 2006 – 2007 New York City Hepatitis A, B & C Surveillance Report. Please complete brief online survey after reviewing the surveillance report
* New York State Department of Health Viral Hepatitis Strategic Plan (2010 – 2015)
* List of Celebrities with Hepatitis C

Education & Training

* Clinical Care Options – Online Education (CME)

* Harm Reduction Coalition 2010 Winter Training Calendar
* Caring Ambassadors Online Webinars

- Congressional Communications 101 - Recording of Webinar on 11/18/09

- The Power of Many Voices: Your Role in State and Local Advocacy - 2009 HCAU State Level Advocacy Presentation in PowerPoint format. Local Advocacy Webinar in PowerPoint format

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Funding

* Long Acting, Sustainable Therapies for Opiate Addiction (R01). NIH & NIDA.
* Support Opportunity for Addiction Research (SOAR) for New Investigators (R03). NIH & NIDA. Letters of Intent Receipt Date: March 16, 2010.
* Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation
* Projects to Deliver Peer-to-Peer Recovery Support Services (Short Title: Recovery Community Services Program [RCSP]). Due: 2/10/2010.
* Frank E. Payne and Seba B. Payne Foundation: General Fund Announcement. The Payne Foundation provides support for education, hospitals, and cultural programs (HIV Coinfection). No deadline.
* Hoffmann-La Roche Funding Opportunities. No deadline.
* NYS Recovery Funding Handbook

Viral Hepatitis Related Jobs

* www.idealist.org ~ Search for: New York Key word: Hepatitis. Will send daily emails with open jobs.

* Harm Reduction Program Coordinator. BronxWorks.

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Hepatitis B & C Coalitions, Task Forces & Patient Groups

The NYC Viral Hepatitis B & C Coalitions, Task Forces & Patient Groups provide an opportunity to get involved locally to create positive change with people who care about viral hepatitis as much as you do.



Hepatitis B Coalition Meetings

* Next HBV Coalition meeting: March 11th (3-5:30 PM). Location TBD.
* To join invitation list email: njohnso2@health.nyc.gov
* See the NYC Hepatitis B Coalition Website



Hepatitis C Task Force Meetings

* Queens Hepatitis C Task Force Meeting now a sub-group of the monthly Queens Consortium on Substance Abuse & Alcoholism Committee. February 17th (3-5). Queens Borough Hall 120-55 Queens Blvd , Queens , NY 11415 ~ Room 213.
* Several major HCV Task Force project and events are occurring in February and March 2010, and all task force members are encouraged to attend. (See Upcoming Events above for full information). In order to ensure task force members have time to attend these events, general meeting are suspended until April.

- NYC HCV Advocacy Subcommittee. February 11th (10 -12). Harm Reduction Coalition, 22 W. 27th Street , 5th Floor, New York . To join: njohnso2@health.nyc.gov.

- Navigating Medicaid & Medicare: Hepatitis B & C Special Issues 2 Part Training. 1st Day February 25tth and 2nd day April 12th. 26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan , 10278. To register: Frank.Winter@cms.hhs.gov.

- March 3rd HCV Advocacy Trip to Albany! Register with Shari Foster of Status C Unknown!

- New York State Department of Health 2010 Hepatitis C Conference. Includes a HBV track. March 16th (8AM – 4PM). City University of New York Graduate Center , 365 Fifth Avenue , Manhattan .

- Syringe Access Services & Law Enforcement Training. Harm Reduction Coalition, with Narelle Ellendon . March 16th (10 – 5 PM). Register Online.

- 1st Annual Peer Delivered Syringe Exchange Worker Conference. For more information: ellendon@harmreduction.org.

* Sign up for invitations to future meetings: njohnso2@health.nyc.gov



Patient Education & Support Groups ~ Hepatitis B & C

* See Online Listing ~ Groups listed throughout five boroughs, as well as computer and telephone groups.

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Contact: Nirah Johnson , LMSW ~ Community Projects Specialist, Office of Viral Hepatitis Coordination ~ NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene ~ 125 Worth Street , Room 326. New York , NY 10013 ~ (212) 341-0432 ~ njohnso2@health.nyc.gov ~ Website ~ NYC Hepatitis C Services Map