Holy Name will screen 2,000 for Hepatitis B

About 2,000 Asians will be screened for the virus over the next year as part of an awareness campaign made possible by a $75,000 grant from the Gilead Foundation to the hospital's center. The center will provide vaccinations to those who have not been inoculated and are not carrying the virus. Carriers can be given antiviral medications to prevent serious damage from the virus. Hepatitis B is not curable.

Though experts don't know why, hepatitis B is four to 10 times more likely to be diagnosed in Asians than in whites in the United States, said Dr. Chul S. Hyun, a gastroenterologist and medical director of the Asian Liver Center at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck.

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