Maggie McKay (Host): What if you were diagnosed with hepatitis B, would you know what it is? What it involves? Today, we'll find out more about it and how to prevent it with Mohammed Abdul-Kadir.

Welcome to Together We Rise, a podcast from International Community Health Services. ICHS advocates for health as a human right and welcomes all in need of care, regardless of health, immigration status, or ability to pay. I'm your host, Maggie McKay. Thank you so much for joining us, Mohammed. Would you please introduce yourself?

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: Yes. My name is Mohammed Abdul-Kadir MPH. I am the coordinator for the Hepatitis B Coalition of Washington. I work for ICHS out of Seattle, Washington.

Host: And what is hepatitis B exactly?

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: Sure. Before I talk about hepatitis B, I would like to give an important disclaimer that I'm not a medical doctor. However, I have a Master's Degree in Global Health and, therefore, the information I provide today comes from reputable organizations like WHO, the CDC and NIH, as well as my 10-year experience as the coordinator for the Hepatitis B Coalition of Washington.

And before I delve into talking about hepatitis B, I would like to talk about the other hepatitis virus types. As we know we have a whole slew of hepatitis viruses, mainly known as the hepatitis alphabet soup, A, B, C, and D. Hepatitis A is the one that's caused by contaminated food and beverages. It's mostly a short term, meaning it goes by itself. For hepatitis A, it resolves without any treatment. So, it's not something that we really worry about. Then, we have hep C, which is transmitted through blood to blood contact. There is no vaccine for hep C, but the good news is there is a cure for hep C nowadays. Finally, we have hep D, which is hepatitis Delta, which needs the Hepatitis B virus to replicate. And there is no cure for it, but we can treat it by treating hepatitis B. So, we have A, C, and D.

Now, let's talk about hepatitis B. All hepatitis viruses affect the liver. So, the hepatitis B is one that is transmitted through blood to blood as well as other bodily fluids contact with an infected person. It's a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus, of course. It has like a longer shelf life, so it's more contagious in a way, not more deadly, but more contagious than the HIV virus. We worry about it because it's highly prevalent in some pockets of our communities.

Host: And Mohammed, how would I know if I had hepatitis B or not?

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: Well, unfortunately, hepatitis B is called the silent killer, and the only way to know is by having your blood tested. This blood test can check whether we have what we call acute or a chronic infection. Symptoms do not always show. They can last without showing any symptoms. It can be like 60 to 150 days. But when they do, the common symptoms are like abdominal pain, dark urine, fatigue, fever, jaundice, yellowing of the eye and the skin, joint pain, loss of appetite, and nausea and vomiting. Those are the symptoms if they show. Like I said, most of the time, they don't show.

Host: Can you explain the difference between acute versus chronic hepatitis B?

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: Sure. Acute in general means short term, whereas chronic means lifelong. So when it comes to hepatitis B, acute means some infection that lasts for like about six months, whereas chronic means something that has not gone away, the body has not had a chance to fight it back so that can last lifelong. That's the basic definition of chronic versus acute.

Host: And what's the role of ICHS and the Hepatitis B Coalition of Washington in attempting to prevent this disease and its effects?

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: Well, unfortunately, hepatitis B disproportionately affects the Asian and API communities as well as the Sub-Saharan African and some Eastern Europe communities. ICHS traditionally has served the API, Asian Pacific Islander communities, and now it's extending its services to serving the Sub-Saharan African and Eastern European communities.

We have this coalition called HBCW, Hepatitis B Coalition of Washington that has been in existence since 2009, and ICHS has been a member of this coalition since its inception. And since 2013, ICHS has led the coalition or sponsored the coalition. I, as an employee of ICHS, lead this coalition of community health, community clinics, government organizations, and faith-based organizations and individuals impacted by the disease. So, what we do is we raise awareness. We raise or increase vaccination and screening rates and increase to care as well as advocate for people with hepatitis B against discrimination, stigma, or just unfair treatment.

Host: And Mohammed, who in our community is most at risk for hepatitis B infection and why are they so vulnerable?

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: There are certain groups that are at high risk for hepatitis B that includes intravenous drug users, infants born to mothers with hep B, men who have sex with men, hemodialysis patients, and household members of people with hep B. Additionally, adults between the age of 30 and 59, because generally there is a low rate of coverage for general vaccines, so people in that age range are at risk. But people who migrated from the countries that I just mentioned, the Asian countries and Pacific Islanders, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, those people are also at risk of having chronic hep B because they have not been vaccinated or they don't have the awareness that they have the disease.

Host: So, one way to prevent it is to get vaccinated.

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: The only way to prevent is to get vaccinated. And luckily, we have a vaccine. The vaccines are usually given in three series, the first two a month apart, and the third one after six months. In fact, nowadays, they have two series of vaccine that's only given a month apart.

Host: And while there's no cure for this disease, can someone infected still live a productive life and how so?

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: Absolutely. Yes, someone infected can live a very productive life. All they have to do is maintain their liver health, like I said, hepatitis B affects the liver, so abstain from alcohol and tobacco, watch their diet. You know, do all the good things, and see their liver specialist at least every six months by doing those kind of things and maintain a healthy lifestyle somewhat. I mean, we see it all the time that people with chronic hep B can live a very productive life. It rarely leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer, but it's common for people to just live a very healthy life.

Host: So, there's frankly a lot of fear regarding hepatitis B. Even the name sounds a little scary. So, how do we best turn that fear into action in regards to fighting this disease?

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: Yeah, of course. Knowledge is power. Be aware that the disease is among us. It may not be curable yet, I do have a feeling that a cure will be found anytime soon. But it is vaccine-preventable. And if we know the modes of transmission, you know, we can protect ourselves from there, having protected sex and abstain from, or not abstain, but at least using clean drug paraphernalia, if we have, you know, people who inject drugs. But knowledge, like I said, knowledge is power. Know about it. Know about the mode of transmission and know that it is vaccine-preventable.

Host: Well, thank you so much for sharing your expertise. This has been so informative. We really appreciate it.

Mohammed Abdul-Kadir, MPH: Thanks for having me. I appreciate that.

Host: Again, that's Mohammed Abdul-Kadir. And to find out more, please check out our website at ichs.com. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels. I'm Maggie McKay. Thanks for listening to Together We Rise, a podcast from International Community Health Services.