Up to 5,000 deaths from hepatitis B among the West Midland’s ethnic communities could be prevented through improved education. This was one of the main conclusions of a meeting involving medical experts, representatives from the area’s ethnic communities and the media.  The meeting took place on 26 October 2007 and was organised by the B Aware Campaign to explore methods of effectively containing the spread of the virus amongst these populations.

"There is a very high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B among first generation immigrants in the West Midlands", explained David Mutimer, a liver specialist from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.  "Infection can be fatal in the long term, but there are effective measures that we can take to treat the infection and stop it from spreading. The problem is that the majority of those infected with hepatitis B are unaware of their condition. This is why improved education is vital".

Educational initiatives for the West Midland’s ethnic populations discussed at the meeting included raising awareness of hepatitis B in the local ethnic media; developing information packages in the major languages of ethnic communities in print and digital form; holding workshops in mosques and community centres; and including hepatitis B related information in the curricula of schools and colleges.

The meeting also heard about the effective practical measures that are available in the West Midlands to help control hepatitis B. These include screening pregnant women and vaccinating the newborn babies of those testing positive, along with other non-immune family members not yet infected; and treating those identified as chronically infected with effective antiviral drugs, which although not a cure can prevent long-term liver damage.