Millions of Americans have chronic viral hepatitis; most of them do not know they have it. The goal of Hepatitis Testing Day is to help raise awareness of hepatitis B and hepatitis C and to encourage more individuals to learn their status. All adults aged 18 years and older are recommended to be screened at least once in their lifetimes for hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
Hepatitis Testing Day is an important opportunity for stakeholders across all sectors of society to educate their constituents and communities about viral hepatitis and the importance of screening and testing. First observed in 2012, Hepatitis Testing Day was designated as a national observance in 2013, to help raise awareness of the silent epidemic of viral hepatitis in the United States.
An estimated 862,000 people are living with hepatitis B and 2.4 million are people living with hepatitis C. Most people with chronic hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus don’t have symptoms until the later stages of the infection. As a result, many Americans living with viral hepatitis do not know they are infected and are at risk for severe, even fatal, complications from the disease and can spread the virus to others. Untreated chronic viral hepatitis represents a leading cause of liver cancer and the most common reason for liver transplantation in the United States. Treatment for hepatitis B is available and can prevent the development of liver disease and liver cancer. Hepatitis C kills more Americans than any other reportable infectious disease yet safe and effective oral treatments are available that cure hepatitis C in one 8 to 12 week course in greater than 95% of infected people, preventing liver disease and liver cancer. Testing individuals for hepatitis B and hepatitis C and linking those chronically infected to medical care and treatment can reduce related illness and death.
Be sure to visit our Hepatitis Awareness Month page for additional events and campaigns across the country.
Ways to Get Involved in Hepatitis Testing Day
Take Action
Take action to locate a nearby provider for hepatitis B vaccination or hepatitis B or hepatitis C testing. Share these tools with friends, family, colleagues, members, clients, constituents, and others.
Use the Hepatitis Digital Tools
Incorporate the Hepatitis Testing Day logo into your website, blog posts, social media, email, and other communications. Visit this CDC page to find an array of digital tools including a quiz widget and buttons, badges, and banners in different shapes and sizes that are ready to download and use online.
Learn about the CDC’s Universal Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Screening and Testing Recommendations
- CDC recommends universal hepatitis C screening for:
- all adults aged 18 years and older, once in a lifetime, except in settings where the prevalence of HCV infection (HCV RNA‑positivity) is less than 0.1%
- all pregnant people during each pregnancy, except in settings where the prevalence of HCV infection (HCV RNA‑positivity) is less than 0.1%
- CDC recommends one‑time hepatitis C testing regardless of age or setting prevalence among people with recognized conditions or exposures
- CDC recommends routine periodic testing for people with ongoing risk factors
- CDC recommends hepatitis C testing for any person who requests hepatitis C testing
- CDC recommends universal hepatitis B screening for:
- All adults aged 18 years and older, at least once in their lifetime using a triple panel test.
- CDC recommends screening all pregnant people during each pregnancy, preferably in the first trimester, regardless of vaccination status or history of testing.
- CDC recommends routine periodic testing for people with ongoing risk factors or symptoms for hepatitis B, regardless of age
Get Social
Join the conversation on social media. Use the hashtags #HepTestingDay, #HepAware, and #HepatitisAwarenessMonth to share information on viral hepatitis and Hepatitis Awareness Month.
Follow the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) LinkedIn profile to learn about viral hepatitis federal actions and resources.
Follow @cdchep on Twitter to receive information from CDC about hepatitis resources, tools, publications, campaign updates, and events.
Use CDC’s Educational Campaign Materials
Know More Hepatitis is an educational campaign encouraging all adults to get tested for hepatitis C. The goal of the campaign is to ultimately reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with hepatitis C by increasing testing so those who are infected can get linked to life-saving care and treatment. Supporting fact sheets, posters, infographic, buttons & badges, live-read radio scripts, templates, and other images can all be found under campaign materials.
Know Hepatitis B is an educational campaign aiming to increase testing for h epatitis B among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). This multilingual campaign has materials in English, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese with select fact sheets also available in Burmese, Hmong, Khmer, and Lao. Supporting videos, fact sheets, posters, infographics, customizable flyers, and other materials can all be found under campaign materials.
CDC has multiple viral hepatitis posters available for ordering at no cost. Some posters are available in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
Read About the Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan
Learn more about our The Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan: A Roadmap to Elimination 2021-2025 that provides a framework to control the viral hepatitis epidemics and eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat in the United States by 2030. The Viral Hepatitis Plan features many opportunities for nonfederal stakeholders to take action in support of reaching its goals.