Hepatitis B is an issue for people of Asian descent because hepatitis B disease is endemic in many Asian countries, including China. Although hepatitis B is also endemic in other areas of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe, the San Francisco Department of Public Health is focused on API health because Asian and Pacific Islanders make up 34 percent of San Francisco’s population.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health is one of the lead agencies involved in the SF Hep B Free campaign, turning SF into the first city in the nation where every API is tested to know their hepatitis B virus (HBV) status. Knowing your HBV status is the most important step, and we want to be sure to test everyone, even those individuals who have been previously vaccinated.