HepVu is an interactive online resource that visualizes the first standardized state-level estimates of people with past or current Hepatitis C infection across the United States. These estimates were generated by Emory University’s Coalition for Applied Modeling for Prevention (CAMP), a project supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The project is led by Patrick Sullivan, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology and Co-Director of the CFAR Prevention Science Core.
Overall, it is estimated that 3.9 million Americans have antibodies to Hepatitis C. Antibodies to HCV indicate past or current HCV infection; some people exposed to Hepatitis C clear the virus from their bodies, but still have antibody evidence of past infection. HepVu.org prevalence estimates are based on the number of people who have this antibody evidence of exposure to Hepatitis C, because this is the most inclusive indicator of the reach of the epidemic and informs public health strategies to to address the epidemic. Deaths associated with Hepatitis C continue to surpass the total combined number of deaths from 60 other reportable infectious diseases, including HIV, pneumococcal disease, and tuberculosis.
The recently released National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan 2017-2020 cites limited data as one of the most critical gaps in our national response to viral hepatitis. The public health surveillance system for Hepatitis C is not as robust or extensive as it is for some other infectious diseases like HIV, making it challenging to fully understand the scope of the Hepatitis C epidemic in the U.S. HepVu is committed to helping to address this challenge and strives to provide public health professionals, policymakers, and communities with a valuable resource to support viral hepatitis education, advocacy, and program planning.
HepVu is a “Powered By AIDSVu” project presented by the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in partnership with Gilead Sciences, Inc.
State-level Hepatitis C antibody prevalence estimates were derived from an Emory University Coalition for Applied Modeling for Prevention (CAMP) modeling project, “Estimation of State-level Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection, US States and District of Columbia, 2010,” which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The development of HepVu was guided by the following group of viral hepatitis experts:
- Ronald Valdiserri, MD, MPH Senior Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University
- Heather Bradley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Georgia State University, CDC
- Richard Garfein, Ph.D., MPH, Professor, UC San Diego
- Timothy M. Block, Professor, Co‐Founder and President, Hepatitis B Foundation and Baruch S. Blumberg Institute
- Ryan Clary, Executive Director, The National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable
- Dawn Fishbein, MD, Scientific Director, Viral Hepatitis Research, MedStar Health Research Institute
- Jim Galbraith, MD Associate Professor, UAB Emergency Medicine Department
- Charles Howell, MD Chair of Medicine, Howard University Hospital
- Gregorio Millett, Vice President and Director, Public Policy, amfAR
- Shauna Onofrey, Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Health
- Murray Penner, Executive Director, NASTAD
- Alexandra Shirreffs, Viral Hepatitis Prevention Coordinator, Philadelphia Health Department
- John Ward, MD, Director, Viral Hepatitis Program, Division of Viral Hepatitis, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
Powered By AIDSVu projects use the existing AIDSVu.org infrastructure to help visualize complex data from other projects to inform public health.
