About Us
An estimated 2.3 million people in the U.S. are living with Hepatitis C infection.
Making data on the viral hepatitis epidemic widely available, easily accessible, and locally relevant to inform public health decision making.
HepVu is an online platform that visualizes data and disseminates insights on the viral hepatitis epidemic across the U.S. HepVu’s mission is to make data widely available, easily accessible, and locally relevant to inform public health decision-making. HepVu is a Powered By AIDSVu project presented by the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in partnership with Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Limited data is one of the most critical gaps in our national response to viral hepatitis. Though 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 public health surveillance system for Hepatitis C is not as robust or extensive as it is for other infectious diseases like HIV. This makes it challenging to understand the scope of the Hepatitis C epidemic in the U.S. and develop tailored strategies to improve access to screening, treatment, and prevention services.
In January 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan: A Roadmap to Elimination 2021-2025. The plan outlines objectives and strategies to aid stakeholders—researchers, policy makers, health care providers, advocacy groups, and patients—in working together to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat in the U.S.
To help address this challenge, HepVu visualizes data related to the Hepatitis C epidemic in the U.S., including:
Standardized, state-level estimates of people living with Hepatitis C infection and Hepatitis C-related mortality, stratified by sex, age, and race. HepVu also has more granular Hepatitis C-related mortality data and maps at the county-level.
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HepVu serves as a central hub of information about the impact of the opioid epidemic on Hepatitis C and maps county-level rates of opioid prescriptions and rates of overdose mortality, as well as state-level rates of opioid prescriptions, percent of pain reliever misuse, and rates of overdose mortality.
Learn MoreThe state-level Hepatitis C prevalence estimates on HepVu were derived from the Emory University CAMP project with researchers from the University of Albany and support from CDC. Findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open in the paper, “Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection, US States and District of Columbia, 2013 – 2016.”
Building on this methodology, the state-level stratifications of Hepatitis C prevalence by sex, age, and race were developed by researchers at Georgia State University, Emory University, CDC, and the University at Albany and published in Hepatology Communications in the paper, “Hepatitis C virus prevalence in 50 U.S. states and D.C. by sex, birth cohort, and race: 2013–2016.”
The county-level Hepatitis C-related mortality data were published in Hall et al.’s article in Hepatology titled “County-Level Variation in Hepatitis C Virus Mortality and Trends in the United States, 2005-2017,” and then released on HepVu in February 2021. Findings were developed by researchers at Emory University with researchers from Georgia State University, the University at Albany, and CDC.
HepVu’s county-level opioid prescription and overdose mortality rates data were originally calculated in a study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
HepVu and AIDSVu receive ongoing support and guidance from three groups consisting of key stakeholders and experts:
- AIDSVu Advisory Committee
- AIDSVu Technical Advisory Group
- AIDSVu Prevention and Treatment Advisory Committee.
The development of HepVu was guided by the following group of viral hepatitis experts:
Principle Scientist
Patrick Sullivan, DVM, PhD
Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
HepVu Co-Chair
Ronald Valdiserri, MD, MPH
Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
HepVu Project Director
Heather Bradley, PhD
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Georgia State University
Richard Garfein, Ph.D., MPH, Professor in the Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine at UCSD
Timothy M. Block, Professor, Co‐Founder and President, Hepatitis B Foundation and Baruch S. Blumberg Institute
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, MPH, Vice President and Director, Public Policy, amfAR
Shauna Onofrey, MPH, Epidemiologist, Massachusetts Department of Health
Alexandra Shirreffs, Viral Hepatitis Prevention Coordinator, Philadelphia Health Department
John Ward, MD, Director, Program for Viral Hepatitis Elimination, The Task Force for Global Health, Former Director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis at CDC
