New initiative to help fund hepatitis research

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New initiative to help fund hepatitis research BATTLING DISEASE: A medical foundation has teamed up with a convenience-store chain to help fund research into hepatitis B, which is endemic throughout Taiwan By Chang Yu-jung STAFF REPORTER The public will soon be able to easily contribute to research into hepatitis B by donating receipts as part of a campaign to raise awareness about the disease. FamilyMart and the Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation (肝病防治學術基金會) said yesterday they were jointly launching the campaign in light of the high incidence of the disease in Taiwan. "There are over 3 million hepatitis B carriers in Taiwan," said Dr. Sheu Jin-chuan (許金川), executive director of the foundation and professor at the Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University. "In other words, one out of five adults is a carrier of hepatitis B.""We have held over 400 seminars islandwide to educate the public about prevention and treatment of liver disease and have provided free screening services to more than 150,000 people." Chang Jen-fang, a member of the Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation From the beginning of next month, donation boxes will be placed in 600 branches of the FamilyMart convenience-store chain around Taipei to collect receipts. Money generated by the receipts through the Uniform Invoice Lottery will be used to help fund the activities of the foundation. The proportion of people in Taiwan with hepatitis B is the highest in the world, with nearly 10,000 dying of liver diseases every year, the campaign organizers said. More than 90 percent of adults over 40 years old have been infected by hepatitis B and 15 to 20 percent of adults are hepatitis B carriers, according to Department of Health statistics. In 2000, liver cancer was the No. 1 cause of death in male cancer patients and the No. 2 cause for female patients. In Taiwan, hepatitis B is the major cause of chronic liver disease. Without proper treatment, hepatitis B frequently develops into liver cirrhosis, which in some cases is fatal. Vaccinations have been given to newborn babies to prevent hepatitis B since 1984 to reduce the threat of liver disease. For those born before 1984, liver disease can be diagnosed early through ultrasound examinations of the liver and periodic blood tests. The foundation also announced that a free screening service for hepatitis B and C, organized by the Department of Health and the foundation, would be carried out on April 27 at Provincial Taipei Hospital. This will be the first major screening service provided by the foundation this year. "Since the establishment of our foundation in 1994," said Chang Jen-fang (張甄芳), a member of the foundation, "we have held over 400 seminars islandwide to educate the public about prevention and treatment of liver disease and have provided free screening services to more than 150,000 people."