On behalf of the Canadian Hepatitis B Network (CanHepB) and the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL), we are pleased to invite you to join us at the Inaugural Progress toward Hepatitis B Elimination Meeting in Canada, September 29th-October 1st 2023.
This meeting will be a unique opportunity to exchange ideas, promote collaboration and foster knowledge translation among Canadian clinicians, laboratory providers, public health researchers, policymakers, and academic & community-based organizations with an interest in hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) coinfection. Moreover, this inaugural meeting will support advocacy efforts in Canada to increase awareness, reduce stigma, and health care disparities, and improve the care of persons living with hepatitis B or hepatitis delta coinfection.
Despite the availability of an effective vaccine for over 4 decades, hepatitis B continues to impact over 300 million people globally and at least 250,000 Canadians. Hepatitis B is the major global cause of end-stage liver disease and liver cancer. Every 30 seconds someone dies from hepatitis B. Current oral antiviral therapy reduces liver disease risk but cannot cure hepatitis B, thus requiring lifelong and often expensive treatment.
There is a global race to find a cure for hepatitis B. While we await a cure, Canada needs to develop a nationally coordinated strategy to prevent hepatitis B, identify affected persons, and improve access to care and life-saving treatment.
For the first time, our program will bring together national and global leaders in hepatitis B to discuss how Canada can address this major public health threat.
Sincerely,
