HepVu is an online platform that visualizes data and disseminates insights on the Hepatitis C epidemic across the United States. 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.
The National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan 2017-2020 cites limited data as 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.
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, stratified by sex, age, and race. HepVu also serves as a central hub of information about the impact of the opioid epidemic on Hepatitis C.
The 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.”
HepVu and AIDSVu receive ongoing support and guidance from three groups consisting of key stakeholders and experts: the AIDSVu Advisory Committee, the AIDSVu Technical Advisory Group, and the AIDSVu Prevention and Treatment Advisory Committee. HepVu is also advised by working groups convened on specific topics, including viral hepatitis and opioids.
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
Powered By AIDSVu projects use the existing AIDSVu.org infrastructure to help visualize complex data from other projects to inform public health.
