Save your Liver Foundation (SYLiF), an affiliate of the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) is offering free hepatitis B screening in Kumasi to commemorate this year’s World Hepatitis Day. July 28 is the principal hepatitis awareness event day on the global healthcare calendar and became an official World Health Organization (WHO) day in 2010. The 2011 theme for the day is “This is hepatitis… Know it. Confront it. Hepatitis affects everyone, everywhere”; highlighting the huge reach of the epidemic, the importance of getting informed and the need to use the information to tackle the stigma which has kept the epidemic so silent. A joint statement by WHA and SYLiF warns stigma and discrimination of people living with hepatitis B or C would have to be tackled to save millions of lives. “Viral hepatitis is a global epidemic. The decision of the 193 countries of the WHO to adopt a resolution last year was the first step in tackling it, but we have a long way to go”, said Charles Gore, President of the Alliance, adding that “right now the resolution is just a piece of paper. The challenge for governments is to action it, and that will be immeasurably harder if we don’t at the same time vigorously confront stigma”. 500 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B and C worldwide, killing a million people a year. But despite the huge burden, there is widespread ignorance of the diseases. Hepatitis B is an infectious illness caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) which infects the liver. Acute infection with hepatitis B virus is associated with acute viral hepatitis – an illness that begins with general ill-health, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, body aches, mild fever, dark urine, and then progresses to development of jaundice. A few patients may have more severe liver disease, and may die as a result of it. The infection may be entirely asymptomatic and may go unrecognized. Hepatitis B is the leading transmittable disease in Ghana with a prevalence rate of 1 out of 6. Out of a total of 4,298 patients referred to the serology unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital between July and December 2010, 739 (17.9%) tested positive for hepatitis B Virus. The figure however dropped to 16% between January and June 2011. There are however prevention and treatment options for carriers and non-carriers of hepatitis B, including vaccination. In support of efforts to combat stigma, the World Hepatitis Alliance is launching an interactive project to encourage people across the world to share personal stories and speak out about their experiences. Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh/Luv FM/Ghana