May 2010 marks the 15th Anniversary of National Hepatitis B Awareness Month. In efforts to raise awareness about the disease, the city of San Francisco launched “Which One Deserves To Die?” an aggressive ad campaign aimed at the Asian community, who are currently  experiencing a 1 in 10 rate of hepatitis compared to the 1 in 1,000 in the general population.
Recently, the National Cancer Institute announced that San Francisco has the highest rates of liver cancer in the nation. The leading cause of liver cancer is hepatitis B.
The aggressive ad campaign is part of a larger collaboration called San Francisco Hep B Free. This includes over 50 private and public organizations. According to the campaign, it is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between city government, private healthcare community organizations and businesses.
“The campaign’s goal is to make San Francisco hepatitis B-free by creating public and healthcare provider awareness about the importance of testing. It advocates vaccinating Asian and Pacific Islanders for hepatitis B; and promoting routine hepatitis B screenings and vaccinations within the primary care medical community. It also facilitates access to treatment for chronically infected individuals.”
The ad campaign was put together pro bono by DAE Advertising, a leading Asian American advertising agency based in San Francisco. According to the campaign, these advertisements are the first major market health campaign in the country to feature more than 60 people from the Bay Area’s Asian community.
Here are a few of the ads:
Additional information:
How is Hepatitis B transmitted?
Hepatitis B is transmitted through activities that involve percutaneous (i.e, puncture through skin) or mucosal contact with infectious blood or body fluids (e.g, semen, saliva), including
- Sex with an infection partner
- Injection drug use that involves sharing needles, syringes, or drug-preparation equipment
- Birth to an infected mother
- Contact with blood or open sores of an infected person
- Needle sticks or sharp instrument exposures
- Sharing items such as razors or toothbrushes with an infected person
Hepatitis B is not spread through food or water, sharing eating utensils, breastfeeding, hugging, kissing, hang holding, coughing, or sneezing.
(Source: CDC)
Posted on May 18, 2010
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