HBV and HCV Screening of African Urban Populations in New York City with Linkage to Care: A New Model for Viral Hepatitis Community Outreach

A recent Institute of Medicine Report in January 2010 focused on the unmet need to identify patients with chronic viral hepatitis. Prevalence rates of HBV and HCV infection are high in African countries, and there has been a marked increase in the number of African-born persons living in the United States since 1980. In October, 2011 African Services Committee (ASC), a community based organization serving the African Community partnered with Hepatitis Outreach NEtwork (HONE), an academic-based viral hepatitis community outreach program to target African communities at risk for HBV & HCV in NYC. Our aim was to test participants for HBV and HCV and link positive persons to care. We offered ongoing screening from October, 2011 to January, 2012 at ASC in Harlem, NYC. Of 115 persons screened, 94 (82%) were black or African American and 48 (42%) reported an African country of origin. Overall, 5 (4.4%) persons tested positive for HBV, all of whom were African-born (10.4%). Of those positive for HBV, none had a primary care physician or insurance. All 5 positive patients were successfully contacted by a patient navigator and given referrals for a free follow-up visit at Mount Sinai Medical Center and 4 (75%) attended the visit. One participant was recommended for treatment and successfully navigated to a partnering federally qualified health center. These data demonstrate the importance of urban viral hepatitis screening programs in African communities and establishing partnerships with public and community organizations to ensure detection of disease and linkage to care.