 Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center’s Hepatitis B and C Testing
Schedule
East Bay Hep B Testing Referrals
Wednesdays 4 pm - 7 pm
Fridays 1 pm - 5 pm
First Saturday of the Month 11 am - 2 pm
How to Make an Appointment
Call (415) 292-3400 or email hivtesting@apiwellness.org. Appointments are on the hour, such as 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, etc. Please schedule an appointment at least one day in advance. Same day appointments may be made based on availability.
Language Capabilities
When making your appointment, please indicate if testing is needed in a particular language. Currently, available languages are English, Mandarin, Spanish, Chamorro, and Tagalog.
Location
730 Polk St (corner of Polk & Ellis) on the Fourth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94109
Area consists of metered street parking. Parking is free after 6pm.
Hepatitis B (HBV) Screening
What is Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver. The Hepatitis B virus targets the liver. Chronic Hepatitis B usually shows no symptoms and can develop over 20-30 years to liver damage or liver cancer.
Hepatitis B is transmitted from someone who has Hepatitis B’s blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and saliva. Risk behaviors are behaviors that put one in contact with the above fluids, with the most common transmission in mother-to-child during birth.
Hepatitis B’s Impact on Asian & Pacific Islander Populations
An estimated 10-15% of Asian & Pacific Islanders have chronic Hepatitis B, and most do not know it. A&PI Wellness Center’s Asian & Pacific Islander clients have shown 10% of clients having chronic Hepatitis B. A&PI Wellness aims to screen all Asian & Pacific Islanders.
Eligibility
Due to funding limitations, the Testing Clinic screens only Asian or Pacific Islanders for Hepatitis B. Testing is free, but donations are welcome.
For other populations, you may get tested/vaccinated at http://www.sfcdcp.org/index.cfm?id=21
Hepatitis B Screening
Sessions take about 15 minutes: patient education about Hepatitis B, consent, and blood draw (one tube of blood from the arm). This is a confidential test (name and contact information required), and we contact the client with the results via phone, email, or mail in about 3-4 weeks.
If this is done with a HIV test, Hepatitis B screening is done after the HIV test session.
Possible Results
The test screens for the Hepatitis B antigen and antibody with three possible results:
1. No antigen, no antibody: client does not have Hepatitis B, and is not immune to Hepatitis B. We recommend the client to get the Hepatitis B vaccinations, which can be for free at A&PI Wellness Center.
2. No antigen, have antibodies: client does not have Hepatitis B, and is already immune to Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B antibodies usually stay for life, so the client remains immune against Hepatitis B.
3. Have antigen: client has chronic Hepatitis B. We will link the client with appropriate services depending on the client’s resources.
Hepatitis B Vaccinations
If a client exhibits no Hepatitis B antigen or antibody, that person can receive vaccinations with the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center. We offer Hepatitis B vaccinations only after a client has been screened. Again due to funding limitations, we are only able to provide this service to Asian and Pacific Islanders. Please refer to the above referral list for other populations.
The Hepatitis B vaccination is a series of three shots spanning over at least six months. This means that the second shot should take place no earlier than one month after your first shot, and the third shot no earlier than six months after your first shot. Currently we are only offering vaccination services twice a month, so please schedule an appointment for your shot. If you were not screened with us, please have a physician’s referral and screening results present when you come in for vaccinations.
Vaccinations are free, but donations are welcome!
Hepatitis C (HCV) Testing
What is Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver. The Hepatitis C virus infects a person, and many times people show no symptoms. It may develop over 20-30 years to liver damage or liver cancer. Hepatitis C is only transmitted through blood, so risk behaviors involve blood-to-blood contact such as sharing needles. Hepatitis C is a hundred times more infectious than HIV, so a one time incident may infect someone with Hepatitis C.
Eligibility
Anyone who has ever had blood-to-blood contact (not limited to Asian or Pacific Islanders). Testing is free, but donations are welcome.
Hepatitis C Antibody Testing
Sessions are about 15 minutes: risk assessment, consent, and blood draw (one tube of blood from the arm). This is a confidential test (name and contact information required), and we contact the client with the results via phone, email, or mail in about two weeks. If the client has Hepatitis C, we refer the client to appropriate resources for further testing and evaluation.
If this is done with a HIV test, Hepatitis C testing is done after the HIV test session.
For more information, visit:
StopHep SF
http://www.dph.sf.ca.us/services/StopHep/StopHepSF.htm
San Francisco City Clinic
http://www.dph.sf.ca.us/sfcityclinic/stdbasics/hepatitis.asp
Jade Ribbon Campaign
http://liver.stanford.edu/index2.asp?lang=eng&page=jrcabout
American Liver Foundation
http://www.liverfoundation.org/
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