LiverWELL

Sharon Gibson & Keith Ritchie Gippsland FM (104.7) interview Melanie Eagle about World Hepatitis Day and why people could be at risk of liver damage.

Nhân Ngày Viêm Gan 28 tháng 7 hãy tìm hiểu cách bảo vệ cơ phận quan trọng này của bạn https://www.sbs.com.au/language/vietnamese/audio/nhan-nga-y-viem-gan-28-tha-ng-7-ha-y-ti-m-hie-u-ca-ch-ba-o-ve-co-pha-n-quan-tro-ng-na-y-cu-a-ba-n

Melanie Eagle speaks with Matt Christie Plenty FM Radio 88.6 on World Hepatitis Day encouraging people to get tested for hepatitis. #EndHEP

Guest speaker: Suzanne Powell, Ballarat Community Health Presenters: Isabelle Purcell, Health Promotion Officer, Hepatitis Victoria/LiverWELL Neylan Aykut, Health Promotion Officer, Hepatitis Victoria/LiverWELL ‘Solar Power’ by Zucchini Clan. Used in agreement with the artists. Isabelle and Neylan speak with Suzanne from Ballarat Community Health about the impacts of Quarantine on Alcohol consumption on mental and phyical health, including your liver, harm minimisation and how to get help. How have you're liver health been impacted during COVID-19, we'd love to hear from you: http://www.hepvic.org.au/news/2298/liver-health-care-during-lockdown-tell-us-how-covid-19-is-affecting-you

Presenter: Isabelle Purcell, Health Promotion Officer, Hepatitis Victoria/LiverWELL Interviewees: [1:20 to 9:20] Martin Forrest, Health Promotion Programs Manager, Hepatitis Victoria/LiverWELL [9:30 - 20:00] Sally Watkinson, Viral Hepatitis Nurse Practitioner candidate, Royal Melbourne Hospital Isabelle speaks with Martin and Sally about key concerns for people with viral hepatitis and liver disease in relation to COVID-19 (mainly concerns around accessing healthcare and going to appointments etc as well as heightened risk due to living with a chronic illness) New webchat function and the benefits [1:20 to 9:20] Importance of still accessing healthcare esp around liver health [9:30 - 20:00] How this can be done via telehealth and the benefits [9:30 - 20:00]

Dr Marno Ryan is a Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist with a special interest in fatty liver disease which is fast becoming a serious health issue not only in Australia but throughout the world. She says that despite 30% of the population in Australia having the disease, not everyone will go on to develop more serious liver issues such as non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH). But for those who do develop NASH, losing between 5-10% of body weight can make a really positive difference she says. Listen to find out the best diet and drinks for liver health.

What is the LiverWELL Reveal program? Hepatitis Victoria/LiverWELL Health Promotions Programs Manager Martin Forrest explains in a short podcast interview. www.hepvic.org.au/reveal If you are living with a chronic liver disease, who do you turn to in the community for help and support? Up to 40% of Australians are living with fatty liver disease and many of these people will develop more serious conditions like non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and even liver cancer. Reveal is a new program run by LiverWELL/Hepatitis Victoria which enables community members and the Blood Borne Virus (BBV) workforce to provide input which will enable support for people living with, or at risk of liver disease and viral hepatitis. Contact Martin@hepvic.org.au or 1800 703 003

Dr Alex Hodge is a gastroenterologist and expert in chronic liver disease. He has a special interest in obesity and the many ways to combat it. 'I look at what fat can do inside the liver and what fat means for the patient outside the liver," he says. "Inside it can eventually cause fibrosis and cirrhosis, outside its a risk factor for developing diabetes." Dr Hodge also talks about the health benefits of drinking more than four cups of coffee a day, and the bad news about alcohol. "All the studies of coffee have been positive studies... and show that there’s an association between coffee consumption and improvement in various liver parameters...if you give people four or more cups of coffee a day, they have less liver cancer, less liver fibrosis. "It’s caffeinated coffee we are talking about so it could be instant coffee, expresso-based coffee or filtered." Dr Hodge also gives some broader health tips to keep your liver in top shape.

Hepatitis Victoria/LiverWELL CEO Melanie Eagle was interviewed on ABC's Nightlife national radio program on 8 January. She talks about the hepatitis C cure and why thousands of Australians are still not taking up the option.

This podcast was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article. https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/podcasts/exposing-the-hepatitis-b-virus Researchers Professor Peter Revill and Dr Thomas Tu are on front line of global efforts to find a cure; helped by Dr Tu developing a new method to better detect the virus’ ‘master blueprint’.

Amanda Li Hromin works as a community advocate supporting health promotion, community engagement, education programs and community awareness campaigns for the Victorian Chinese community in relation to viral hepatitis B and C prevention and related liver cancer prevention. She was nominated by Hepatitis Victoria for the Council on the Ageing Senior Achiever Award 2019, for which she was the deserving recipient. In this short podcast, Amanda talks about why she volunteers for Hepatitis Victoria and other organisations and what is the best way to communicate important health messages to the Chinese/Australian community.

Lewis Stieven-Taylor is a La Trobe University student studying for a Bachelor of Health Science majoring in rehabilitation counselling. As part of his course, he is required to complete 80-120 hours of a work placement as an intern which he completed at Hepatitis Victoria focused on health promotion. Lewis says his internship exceeded his expectations in many ways. “For anyone with an interest in health promotion I would highly recommend they look into Hepatitis Victoria because it has been, at every step, fun engaging and extremely educational. I have come on leaps and bounds in my knowledge of health promotion and improved a lot of the related skills that come with it,” says Lewis. “On top of that, the mentor-ship here from my supervisor Ali has been phenomenal, he has been at every stage, very open and aware of the tasks he is setting me, making sure I understand what is expected and always available for me to ask questions. He has also tailored the tasks to ensure they are beneficial for my future career, and also to a help achieve the academic aims of the university.”

Sidney Vo is appealing a Federal Government decision, based on her hepatitis B status, that means she and her 12-year-old son Billy have to leave Australia by the end of the month. Her case has been widely publicised and by mid-September an online petition of support had received over 22,000 signatures. Sidney’s experience has galvanised her to speak out. She signed up to become a Hepatitis Victoria HEPSpeaker and stepped out of training to record a short Hepatitis Victoria podcast. Sidney speaks about her situation and in particular the unexpected stigma and discrimination she has experienced since going public. “Its not fair for people like us to get discriminated against,” she says. “We didn’t choose to have this disease -I call it an ailment- it’s not serious if we take care of it, and what we need is more people to take the test.” Only 7% of people living with hepatitis B in Australia are getting treated while the other 93% of people “…are hiding maybe because of the stigma and discrimination, they don’t want to tell doctors they have hepatitis B.” “I feel like a victim of old-fashioned guidelines…” Sidney says. “It's not only myself, after I went public I was contacted by people who are now overseas who say they had the same situation but left Australian with talking about it, maybe because of the stigma. “If every chose to pack up and go who would be the one to stand up for us? I am doing this not just for myself but for the hepatitis B community.”

Health Promotion Project Officer, Isabelle Purcell was interviewed on 3CR Community Radio about the positive changes in migration rules for people living with viral hepatitis who want to apply for permanent residency in Australia. She talks about what the changes mean and why they are an important change for anyone with a chronic condition.

Margaret Littlejohn is a medical scientist at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, where she does research and diagnostic work into the hepatitis B virus. Together with Associate Professor Steven Tong of the University of Melbourne and other colleagues, she recently published a fascinating paper entitled 'What hepatitis B tells us about the migration of ancient humans'. The viral genetics of Hepatitis B is helping to trace the history and movement of Australia’s first people back at least 51,000 years “We found the precursor of the modern HBV C4 -the strain of hepatitis B that is mostly found in Indigenous Australians- that virus entered Australia 51,000 years ago. During the research “…we sequenced a lot of the viruses from different communities and what we noticed was this amazing geographical clustering…and from that work we did some computer analysis of the sequences that allowed us to date when the ancestor of that first virus would have arisen…and it allowed us to put forward a model of which direction it came into Australia,” she said. “Hepatitis B has the characteristics of being an ancient human pathogen, it has a very long period of latency and then moves into chronic disease and causes problems when people are past reproductive age, so that allows the virus to be passed on even in small populations and presumably in hunter gatherer populations.” Margaret says that endorsement for the research from the Indigenous community has been critical. “(Our research) has raised the profile of hepatitis B in the communities, which is important because there are a lot of people out there who do not know they have either hepatitis B and C,” she said.

Kai Wen Cheong is a studying for his Master's in Social Work at the University of Melbourne and for the last three months he has been a Hepatitis Victoria intern. In a short interview he speaks about his experience and what he has learnt. "I feel blessed as I am literally enjoying every minute at Hepatitis Victoria... we are doing something really good for the community." Kai's internship has provided him with many varied and surprising experiences, meeting people from all over Victoria and from all walks of life. "One of my favourite quotes is from Mother Theresa, '...not all of us can do great things, but we can all do small things with great love..' The role of the intern of the intern or volunteer allows us to do something good for humanity," Kai says.

Every year the 28th July is World Hepatitis Day, when we remind ourselves that this preventable disease kills more than a million people globally every year, yet it can be managed and cured with more awareness, support and funding. Even in Victoria over 70,000 people are unaware they are living with viral hepatitis. On 25 July Hepatitis Victoria CEO Melanie Eagle spoke on ABC Radio's Overnight program to Trevor Chappell about what is viral hepatitis, why it is ignored and whywe need more awareness.

Helen Tran is a Hepatitis Victoria Project Officer working to raise awareness about hepatitis B in Victoria's Vietnamese community and encourage people to get blood tests, vaccinations and timely treatment. "Liver cancer is very prevalent among Australian-Vietnamese and hepatitis is one of the main reasons," she says. Helen has been speaking to groups such as the Vietnamese Arthritis Association, and she has been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who tell her after her session that they will get a blood test and vaccination. "Presentations to community groups need to be made fun, no more than 20-30 minutes long and there should be ample time allowed for questions from the audience," she says. In addition, the language barrier can be a big problem when speaking to communities. "If they can't understand completely it can't help them take action," she says.

The Doherty Institute’s viral hepatitis National Mapping Report 2017 was published in April, providing an Australia-wide snapshot of prevalence, treatment and progress for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and for liver cancer. We talk to the author, Jennifer MacLachlan, Epidemiologist at the Doherty Institute who says the report reveals some surprises, but first explains the decision to combine what were previously separate reports on hepatitis B and C, and to add new data related to liver cancer.

Melanie Eagle was interviewed on World Liver Day on the launch of Eating Well: A LiverWELL™ Lifestyle Guide by Chris Isley on Perth radio station 6PR. Melanie explains what's in the Guide and why it is an urgently needed resource.

On 19 April, World Liver Day, Melanie Eagle was interviewed by presenter Chris Smith from radio 2GB in Sydney about the launch of Eating Well: A LiverWELL™ Guide. Melanie explains the kind of recipes are in the book, as well as the hints and tips for good liver health. She talks about why it is so important to look after your liver especially as an estimated 6 million Australians have the beginnings of liver disease.

Will Scott has worked as both a volunteer and staff member at Hepatitis Victoria. In this short interview he reflects on what he has learnt and gained from working for a dynamic and fast-paced non-for-profit. He also talks about his own personal experience of overcoming viral hepatitis, and gives advice for those thinking of volunteering or working for the organisation.

Priscilla is a nutritionist and Kessavee head chef at the Merri Cafe, an organic restaurant using fresh, local ingredients. Priscilla and Kessavee have collaborated creating simple and delicious recipes for Eating Well: A Guide for Better Liver Health. This short podcast interview was made during the testing and sampling of several recipes at the Merri Cafe. The Eating Well Guide is free and will be available soon in digital and hard copy format. www.liverwell.org.au/eatingwell

Ross Williams is a Hepatitis Victoria Board member, HEP Hero and a HEPSpeaker. On 7 March, he spoke passionately about his lived experience of hepatitis C during the Brimbank HEPReady forum. In a short interview, Ross talks about what lived experience speakers can add to an event and why 'self-stigma' is so damaging and difficult to overcome. In the final analysis, "..it's your life, and being anxious about how people will treat you is a secondary consideration," he says.

Cr Lucinda Congreve is the Mayor of Brimbank, one of the most culturally diverse areas of Victoria. She opened the HEPReady Forum in Brimbank on Thursday 7 March. In this short podcast, Cr Congreve talks about the multiple health challenges in Brimbank and what her Council is doing in response. "We have a new health and wellbeing centre in St Albans with a whole range of wrap-around services for the community and it might be we consider treating hepatitis at the centre," she said.

Andree tells us, when her doctor had written ‘HEP C POSITIVE’ on a pathology slip, which she unknowingly carried in her bag for some time. Upon realising, Andre stated she was shocked and explains about the negative repercussions this unwanted disclosure could’ve had on her, or anyone else in a similar situation. She talks about the lack of education on these matters that is still evident in the healthcare system, and notes that complaining is an option in response.

Jules Cassidy has been an advocate for viral hepatitis, harm reduction, and mental health for decades. She lived with hepatitis C from as early as the 1980’s, and was cured just a few years ago. Jules reflects on how hepatitis C and the stigma that sometimes came with it added to the many complexities of her life.

"You could stand in a bucket of infected blood and still not catch the infection...as long as you don't have any cuts on your feet." That's one of the little anecdotes Steven Taylor uses to illustrate how viral hepatitis can only be passed from one person to another through infected blood. Steven has worked at Hepatitis Victoria as a volunteer, performer and now Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Workforce Training Officer. Steven presents the facts about viral hepatitis in a two-hour summary, to organisations in the AOD sector. He talks about his new job, what the training involves and why there is a "...real need in the AOD community for this kind of information." If you would like to contact Steven to invite him to train your organistion call 03 9385 9101 or email Steven@hepvic.org.au

Neylan Aykut is a health promotion officer at Hepatitis Victoria whose job mainly involves working in Victoria's prisons combatting viral hepatitis. Neylan talks about the challenges of working in custodial settings, and some of the surprising -and inspiring- things she has learnt. "I really enjoy working in prisons," she says. "People inside respond very well to being spoken to with respect, they speak with candour and the sessions are great." Neylan uses art as a teaching aid in some of her sessions, an approach she says brings multiple benefits.

Judith Gorst works at the Prahran Market Clinic as a Practice Nurse and Counsellor. She is in daily contact with people who have been affected by HIV and hepatitis C. In her Stigma Story, Judith unpacks the difficulties that stigma adds to an already complex situation for many of her patients who are living with a blood borne virus. Judith talks about the stress and uncertainty her patients often experience when it comes to disclosing to family, friends, employers, and others in the community. She highlights the importance of considering the positives and negatives that could come from disclosing your status to someone, and to recognise that most people don’t actually have to tell anyone - if they choose not to. This realisation is often an important first step in regaining autonomy and self-determination over a one’s condition.

Melanie Eagle spoke on JOYFM on 22 December about the recent Hepatitis A outbreak in Australia, and discusses what people can do to avoid getting hepatitis A. A free vaccine is currently available in Victoria for men who have sex with men.

Our resident dietitian Priscilla-Hiromi Correa gives her best tips and advice for keeping your liver healthy this festive season.

"It's great to look back and feel like you have made a meaningful contribution to public health before having entered the workforce..." so says Robbie-Lee Stephen an intern at Hepatitis Victoria studying for a Master of Public Health at the University of Melbourne. Her intern project, led by Community Engagement and Education Project Manager Aurora Tang, is a new community initiative, the Chinese Health Promotion Coalition launched on 23 September at Melbourne Town Hall. Robbie talks about her role and its key priorities with the overall goal being the elimination of viral hepatitis B and related liver cancer within the Victorian Chinese community. The Chinese community in Victoria is 10 times more likely to have chronic hepatitis B and 6 times more likely to develop preventable liver cancer.

Steven talks about his lived experience of acquiring hepatitis C through the healthcare system and successfully undergoing interferon treatment some years later. In the past, this was a time in his life that he preferred not to talk about and forget it happened. Steven reflects on the stigmatisations he witnessed and felt in his professional and personal life, as well as his process of overcoming it. His message to the community is to reserve judgement, have an open mind, demonstrate compassion, and to listen to each other’s stories.

In this month’s stigma story we hear from Kamarra Bell-Wykes, a Yagera and Butchella woman from South-East Queensland. She is the creative director at Ilbijerri Theatre Company. Kamarra reflects on her time spent living with hepatitis C, including the difficulties of coming to terms with the virus at a young age and a bad experience accessing a health service. Despite being involved in the production of successful plays about hepatitis C such as Chopped Liver, Kamarra still found it extremely difficult to talk about her condition and rarely disclosed to those around her. It was only sometime after clearing the virus that Kamarra gradually began opening up about her experience, which she found strength and empowerment in doing and helped her produce VIRAL: Are you the cure?

HEP Hero Youhorn Chea believes if you have hepatitis B or hepatitis C it is absolutely vital to see a specialist and get the condition treated. "The medicines are very good and efficacious, but you need to continue to use them, otherwise you could face big health problems, so my message is to get treatment as soon as possible," he says. Youhorn talks about his life overcoming hepatitis C and how as a leader in the Cambodian community he can set an example of what needs to be done to regain liver health.

Actor Blayne Welsh delighted the audience at HepVics Annual General Meeting with a dazzling performance of several characters from IIbijerri’s latest production ‘Viral’ the third instalment in a trilogy of shows about Indigenous people living with hepatitis C. Viral is about hepatitis C, but also a whole lot more, including poverty and Indigenous dispossession and fake news in the age of Trump. After performing, Blayne graciously answered questions about the way Viral was conceived and the reaction of audiences including those inside prison, ”…they are among the most respectful and wonderful audiences I have had the chance to perform to,” he said

Our own dear Paul Gow, the Chair of Hepatitis Victoria's Liver Health Advisory Committee from Austin Health was interviewed on ABC Nightlife on October 15 talking all things liver health. He answered an array of fascinating questions touching on nutrition, lifestyle and fatty liver disease, alcohol and the liver, and the need to be mindful of medicines and health supplements.

Emily Male and Amy Hatfield are Monash University students working as interns at Hepatitis Victoria. Emily also does volunteer work with Fitzroy Legal Service. They both have an interest in law reform. Their research at Hepatitis Victoria explores stigma and barriers people face post-cure of hepatitis C. in particular The Australian Red Cross Blood Service Blood Donation Guidelines.

In Peter's experience working with and being involved in the lives of people who have used drugs, he has always maintained a core value of “not judging people and treating them as anyone else”, says Peter Higgs, a social researcher, university lecturer, and former president of Hepatitis Victoria. Read on or listen to his story: http://www.hepvic.org.au/page/1294/peters-stigma-story

Dr Paul Gow is a Liver Specialist at the Austin Hospital and the Chair of Hepatitis Victoria's Liver Health Advisory Committee, a group looking at expanding the work the organisation does beyond viral hepatitis. One in three Australians have fatty liver disease, he says, a looming health crisis for the country. Meanwhile, there are a long list of other liver-related diseases for which there is little knowledge or practical support for the general public. "The changes we have seen in the last 20 years are miraculous... this means there is space for Hepatitis Victoria to broaden its remit and potentially offer services to people with other liver problems".

We hear about Aye Aye Khaing’s positive experiences when opening up to her family and friends about living with hepatitis B. She mentions that educating herself and those close to her about the condition has alleviated worries around transmission and her wellbeing.

Karen Hoyt is one of our latest HEP Heroes and she is unique in being our first international recipient! Speaking from Oklahoma in the United States where she lives, Karen talks about her diagnosis with hepatitis C and how she experienced the full gamut of conditions leading to a liver transplant. As a result of her condition, Karen became determined to help others, challenge stigma, and remain healthy. Her top three tips for people living with viral hepatitis: Take control of your nutrition, start physical activity and practice mindfulness. A teacher by profession, Karen uses her skills to blog, video, and write a book about liver health and diet. She teaches yoga and is a gold medal winning athlete at the Transplant Games, holding the American record for cycling.

On 28 July, World Hepatitis Day we launched LiverWELL an Australian app to fight liver disease and hepatitis. Our CEO Melanie Eagle spoke to JOYFM about the significance of the day and why LiverWELL could be a game changer for people living with viral hepatitis and liver disease.

Why do people with liver disease and hepatitis need an app like LiverWELL and what can it do for you? Hepatitis Victoria CEO Melanie Eagle explains how LiverWELL can help those living with the most common forms of viral hepatitis. She also talks about the risks from viral hepatitis and why treatment and management of the condition is so important. LiverWELL is free and available for download for both android and iphone.

In this month’s stigma story we hear from Jarrod McMaugh, a health professional who works as a pharmacist in the north of Melbourne. Jarrod is also a board member at Hepatitis Victoria. In his day to day Jarrod is treating patients with opioid replacement therapy like methadone or suboxone. Among other disparities, hepatitis C and liver health are common concerns for this population. “There’s no reason to treat any person different. Stigma has a huge impact on people’s health outcomes”, he says.

Steven Taylor says volunteering for Hepatitis Victoria," gives you a chance to put your money where your mouth is, to give you some responsibility, to make you feel a bit better about the world you inhabit." As for being a HEP Hero, he says,"...when you share your story it helps you reflect on what you have been through."

Melanie Eagle, CEO of Hepatitis Victoria has recently returned from the Global Hepatitis Summit in Toronto, Canada. A few weeks before, while on a personal trip, she spent time meeting groups dealing with viral hepatitis in Georgia, a Central Asian republic. Her trips give her a unique perspective on how the global battle against viral hepatitis is faring. In this short podcast, she reflects on what she learnt at the Toronto summit, and the circumstances that make Georgia's battle so unique. Despite the progress that is being made in some countries,"...if the pressure is taken off, it is clear the goal of global elimination (by 2030)will slip further downstream," she says.

A healthy life means looking after your heart, taking care of your gut and loving your lungs. But your liver needs your love too! Hepatitis Victoria’s Love Your Liver-Regional health awareness campaign is being rolled out in Shepparton and progressively in Dandenong, Frankston, and Moe over the coming months. It will then be released in Brimbank, Maribyrnong and Mildura next year. The new slogan “Your liver needs your love, too” encourages people to think not only of their heart, lungs and intestines, but also of their hardest-working organ –and one of the only ones able to regenerate itself- the mighty liver!

Thi reflects on her experiences disclosing and discussing her condition to the various people in her life – including friends, family, and co-workers. The reaction from her peers has been of positivity, support, and curiosity. She highlights the fact that there is no need for people living with viral hepatitis to disclose if they don’t want to. However, simply talking about it with people you are comfortable around and trust can be very beneficial. “In the end your feelings towards yourself are more important than other people’s feelings. I am a human being, I am not hepatitis B,” she says.

Noon Juba and Akuot Tebir are graduate volunteers doing research into the awareness of viral hepatitis in Sudan and in Australia's Sudanese community. Their fascinating study probes the attitudes and perceptions and if those approaches have carried over into the growing Sudanese community in Australia. Both Noon and Akout believe breaking the barrier to diagnosis and treatment lies in raising awareness. "Many people don't know it’s a public health issue, so we need to teach why it happens, how it happens and what you can do about it," says Akout. "Many won't seek help until it affects their functioning in everyday life - they don't know it is as serious or as prevalent as it is..." adds Noon. The researchers have suggestions about how best to get the message to the Sudanese community in Australia.

Chris Carter is the CEO of North West Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) and a Hep Hero. “Primary Health Networks can show leadership around advocacy, ensuring the message around blood-borne diseases, STIs and hepatitis gets forward in the public domain at the federal, state and community level,” he explains. “The challenge is trying to get viral hepatitis front and centre and PHNs have a couple of roles; analysis of what is happening in the catchment and filling the gaps… we’re both a planner and a funder,” he says but it is a complicated problem to tackle. “Stigma is a huge problem in terms of viral hepatitis and it is linked to so many other domains of human behaviour. Many people in our catchment are from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds, so often there are cultural and linguistic barriers: overlay that with GPs who may not be confident to talk about viral hepatitis because of their own belief system, (all this) makes it tricky for people to raise the issue and tackle the virus,” he says. Chris talks about further steps that need to be taken if we are to achieve ambitious 2030 state goals for the total elimination of viral hepatitis. These include the need for more engagement from federal and state government in the prevention space. Finally, he discusses the impact of recent awareness campaigns such as ‘Love Your Liver’ funded by NWMPHN and developed by Hepatitis Victoria.

Manuela Urdiste is one of the key people behind the creation of Little Hep B Hero- a family resource about hepatitis. She is part of the Hepatitis Victoria's Community Advisory group which guided the project through conception to completion. "As a mum of two kids, and also living with chronic hepatitis B it was a good chance for me to express my thoughts, my feelings and my ideas to this advisory group, it was a chance for me to be part of this team... Trying to explain to my kids aged 5 and 8 was quite difficult, telling them what the liver is... but step by step you make them aware."

Jennifer MacLachlan is an epidemiologist at the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity where she collects and analyses data concerning viral hepatitis in Australia. Her team has done ground-breaking work in the National Mapping Projects for hepatitis B and C, attracting widespread attention and giving health advocates important evidence to help fight viral hepatitis. In this short podcast, Jennifer discusses what ‘bigger picture’ data reveals about on-the-ground changes, and what Australia urgently needs to do to have a realistic chance of achieving the 2030 elimination targets. "We are making gradual progress, but it is not as rapid as it needs to be," she says. "Treatment uptake for hepatitis B is only increasing 1% per year but we need it to double to reach the National Strategy target. "We need to change every element of the healthcare system in Australia to eliminate hepatitis..." Jennifer says.

Priscilla Hiromi Correa is a Brazilian dietitian with a special interest in the liver and people living with liver disease. Mark Pearce, Hepatitis Victoria's Communications Manager, spoke with her on a recent visit to our offices. She recommends against 'fad' diets and is in favour of eating based on Australia's dietary recommendations, for optimum liver and general overall health. "Nutrition is so important that through a better diet a patient might even be removed from the transplant waiting list," she says. All Priscilla's recommendations come with a caveat for listeners; consult with your health practitioner about your personal circumstances before following any advice.

The social stigma around viral hepatitis is deadly, contributing to up to 6 deaths a week in Victoria alone, a greater burden than the state road toll. On 17 March Hepatitis Victoria CEO Melanie Eagle was invited into the JoyFM studio to talk about the launch of #StigmaStops, a year-long campaign to raise awareness and help tackle stigma launched on Zero Discrimination Day earlier this month.

Meg Perrier, Hepatitis B Outreach Project Officer is running a joint project with Cohealth and the Wingate Avenue Community Centre in Ascot Vale, to raise awareness about hepatitis B and get people at risk treated. "...For those born overseas, more often than not they were born in countries with high endemic countries of hepatitis B," she says. The project at Wingate Avenue has introduced an education program about the disease that has led to the testing of 80 community members, more than Meg and her team had anticipated, and a very welcome outcome. "One of the biggest challenges was going through the process of developing the education and making sure the education was well received," she said.

#StigmaStops Stories is a monthly series from Hepatitis Victoria were we talk with people living with hepatitis about their experiences facing stigma. Allan Dumbleton is a HEP Hero who was recently cured of hep C. This is his story.

HEP Hero Allan Dumbleton talks about his experience getting cured of hepatitis C. It took three treatments, two with the Direct Acting Anti Virals, but finally Allan was cured. "When they told me my viral load was negative- that day will remain with me forever, a great weight was lifted," he says. Allan also talks about the stigma he experienced and says what he wished he should have done to combat it. A must listen for anyone who cares about helping people with viral hepatitis, or tackling prejudice and stigma.

Hep Hero Margaret Hellard on the stigma people face living with hepatitis by LiverWELL

Art Inside 2017: Educating prisoners about viral hepatitis through self-expression   “People in prison are at least 20 times more likely to have hepatitis than the rest of the population and we think at least a quarter of the prison population has hepatitis C, but not everyone gets tested and the number with the virus is likely to be higher”.   Health Promotion Officer Sione Crawford is managing the second year of Art Inside, a project run by Hepatitis Victoria in partnership with Justice Health, the part of Corrections Victoria responsible for health and well-being of prisoners. The goal is to create a resource illustrated with prisoners art work to help educate their fellows about viral hepatitis. Justice Health recognises the virus as an important health issue inside that must be tackled.

Dr Bruce Bolam is the Victorian Government's Chief Preventative Health Officer. He spoke at Hepatitis Victoria's Forum on Stigma and Discrimination held at the Melbourne Town Hall on 7 December 2017. In this short interview, he talks about the negative barriers stigma creates around hepatitis, the health impacts as a result, and why it is important to confront stigma and discrimination in all its forms.

The 'Love Your Liver' campaign is promoted and supported by Chinese media stakeholders @3CW1341 @SBSCantonese. This interview with HepVic's Aurora Tang, was broadcast in Mandarin on 5 December 2017. An interview broadcast on SBS in Cantonese on 7 December is available here: https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/cantonese/zh-hant/audiotrack/hepvic-love-your-liver-campaign?language=zh-hant

Fred Negro has been drawing 'lovely livers' for the past 10 years. His whimsical liver cartoons are a popular feature in the Good Liver magazine and have attracted quite a following. As a child Fred says he made his own stick figure comics. "I used to like Little Dot comics... Little Dot was a collector of dots. She had boxes full of dots and all her clothes were covered with dots, and she had dots on the wall she could climb through," he says. Fred also talks about his fascination with Piranha's, the genesis for his show and his book launch in St Kilda. St Kilda's Alright The Fred Negro Experience is on at Brightspace Gallery, 8 Martin Street, St Kilda Dec 1-17.

Hepatitis Victoria CEO Melanie Eagle attended the World Hepatitis Summit 2017 in Brazil recently and came back with some unsettling news. Despite clear progress in countries like Egypt, China and Brazil, the world is clearly not on track to reach the goal of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030. An estimated 1.4 million people died of hepatitis related diseases in 2016, a mournful total that is more than the number of deaths for HIV or tuberculosis. 'Unfortunately, we are not on track to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030,' Melanie says. 'There are still massive challenges often reflected by health system dysfunction and lack of resources...even in Australia there is the slowing down of people commencing treatment for hep C, so there's much more to be done,' she says. 'There's no reason to be confident and we have to think of new ways to progress the agenda of elimination.'

#Red speaks with Melanie Eagle, CEO is urging Victorians to "Love your liver" a heartfelt campaign in Melbourne’s north-west urging testing and treatment

HEPReady Business Development Manager, Reece Lamshed talks about why pharmacists are such an important ally in the fight against hepatitis. "For many people in the community pharmacists have always been a first point of call for health, now we are training them to help us in the struggle against hep B and hep C," he says. The HEPReady course gives pharmacists the comprehensive information they need to provide information on testing and treatment of hepatitis in a discrimination free workplace. Find out more at www.hepvic.org.au

Tilman Ruff is one of Hepatitis Victoria's latest HepHeros. He has spent the past 20 years fighting to get hep B vaccinations to vulnerable populations in the Asia Pacific. "For about 20 years I assisted national immunisation programs in Pacific island countries with hepatitis B control and more broadly, working with WHO and UNICEF," Tilman says. "Now I serve on an expert committee on hepatitis B control for the Western Pacific Region of WHO, helping countries check how their immunisation and hepatitis B control programs are going and working with them to figure out how to make them work better." Tilman was a founding member of the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was recently awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. "Like hepatitis B, nuclear war can be prevented and nuclear weapons eradicated," he says.

Frank and Melanie both gave moving talks about what they see as the progress and challenges for the hepatitis community in the coming months and years.

At Hepatitis Victoria's 25th Anniversary event, Master of Ceremonies and HepHero Steve Taylor talked to Rhonda McCaw and Julie Shiels about the early days and how the organisation was founded. Its a fascinating discussion, that reveals not only how far we have come, but also how far we have to go.

Sione Crawford is a Health Promotion Project Officer at Hepatitis Victoria. He recently attended the 6th International Symposium on Hepatitis Care in Substance Users, held in New York. He talks about the insights he gained from the symposium, including the vastly disparate ways treatment is provided in different parts of the world, and the United States, and how stigma and ignorance is preventing treatment and killing thousands of people every year.