Hepatitis Awareness Month 2025

Hepatitis Awareness Month is observed in May each year with Hepatitis Testing Day on May 19. During this time, we take the opportunity to shed light on how viral hepatitis impacts our communities. We do this by:

Educating the public
Encouraging testing/screening for hepatitis
Discussing the importance of vaccinations for hepatitis

Viral Hepatitis Facts

There are several different viruses that can cause hepatitis. The most common types are hepatitis A (HAV), hepatitis B (HBV), and hepatitis C (HCV).
Some hepatitis infections are short-term and clear on their own. Others can become long-term and need ongoing medical care.
Long-term HBV and HCV infections are leading causes of liver cancer in the U.S.
Both HAV and HBV are preventable through safe and effective vaccines.
HCV can be cured with treatment.
All adults up to age 60 should consider vaccination against HAV and HBV. Those 60+ should consider vaccination if they have certain risk factors. If you are 60+ and do not have risk factors, talk to your healthcare provider about if vaccination may be beneficial or not.
- Hepatitis A Vaccine Info
- Hepatitis B Vaccine Info
More than 65% of people that have HBV are unaware of their infection.
About 40% of people living with HCV are unaware that they have it.
All adults should get tested for hepatitis B and hepatitis C at least once in their lifetime. Pregnant women should be tested for both during each pregnancy. People with ongoing risk for HBV and/or HCV should test routinely for as long as risk persists. Getting tested is the only way to know if you have HBV or HCV.

What is Virginia Doing?

Virginia offers/funds multiple programs and services for viral hepatitis statewide. These include:

Testing
Vaccination
Linkage to medical care
Treatment assistance for some vulnerable populations
And more

Genomic Surveillance Project

VDH has partnered with the Virginia Tech Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory to implement genomic surveillance of HCV. This partnership enables the detection and response to HCV transmission networks. This project has already detected HCV transmission networks spanning multiple jurisdictions. Detecting these networks allows VDH to:

strategically direct resources,
enhance prevention efforts, and
deploy targeted interventions where they are most needed.

Questions about Viral Hepatitis?

Learn more about viral hepatitis by visiting our website. You can also find sites near you that provide free or low-cost vaccinations or testing services.

For more information about viral hepatitis, call the Disease Prevention Hotline. Reach a hotline operator toll-free at (800) 533-4148.

Did you attend the HIV and Hepatitis Prevention Summit?

HIV & Hepatitis Prevention (HHP) would like to thank the 87 participants and presenters who attended the 2025 HHP Summit last month. The event in Richmond brought people from across the state together to share inspiration and best practices for three essential prevention services:

comprehensive harm reduction,
HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, and
status-neutral service navigation.

Ninety-eight percent of participants rated the summit as either good or excellent. Additionally, at least seven attendees indicated that the event prompted them to consider adding one of these services to their organization’s offerings.

Opt-Out and Rapid Point-of-Care Syphilis Testing for Pregnant Patients in Emergency Departments

With adult and congenital syphilis rates rising both in the U.S. and in Virginia, syphilis screening is more crucial than ever. A pre- and post- implementation study was conducted to determine if implementation of an opt-out laboratory-based and rapid syphilis point-of-care testing program in an emergency department (ED) would improve the detection and treatment of syphilis during pregnancy in a high-prevalence region.

The study found that such a program for pregnant patients visiting an ED increased syphilis screenings from 2% to 56.4%. The program detected syphilis that might have otherwise been missed.

Read more about the study on stdjournal.com.

As a next step, local health department clinicians should consider advocating for the expansion of opt-out and rapid point of care testing protocols across emergency departments, particularly in areas where syphilis is high. Private sector clinicians, including those in urgent care and outpatient settings, should evaluate opportunities to incorporate similar testing strategies to improve early detection and intervention for syphilis during pregnancy. Cross-sector collaboration will be key to scaling these efforts effectively.

Personnel Announcements

DDP Teammate of the Year, 2024

Congratulations to Wyatt Johnson on being selected by his coworkers as DDP’s Teammate of the Year for 2024! Nominations praised Wyatt's overall support for the SPS unit. They gave examples of organizing the monthly STD Prevention webinars, taking on additional responsibilities including managing DDP’s LabCorp invoice reconciliation and tracking, and becoming a lead trainer and instructor for Crucial Conversations. Wyatt's willingness to volunteer for new assignments and challenging himself to expand his skillset were applauded by the nominators.