Alberta doctors and liver specialists coordinate to catch more hepatitis cases
Physicians in Calgary have identified gaps in hepatitis testing and management, pinpointing disease hotspots and working to reduce wait times for specialist care.
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Physicians and researchers in Calgary have identified critical gaps in hepatitis testing and management across Alberta, leading to protocol changes aimed at catching more cases of a disease that often goes undetected.
Abdel-Aziz Shaheen, an epidemiologist at the University of Calgary specializing in liver disease, collaborated with geography colleagues to map hepatitis B prevalence across the province. He found concentrated cases in northeast Calgary, north and central Edmonton—areas that correlate closely with recent immigration patterns from regions where the disease is endemic.
"We should look into this because we have a significant burden, and unfortunately we know from the preliminary data that we are not doing a great job," Shaheen said. Roughly 262,000 Canadians have hepatitis B; Alberta is home to approximately 34,000 people with the virus.
Housed in the blood and body fluids, hepatitis B can become chronic and go unnoticed for years, eventually causing liver scarring, cirrhosis, and cancer. Untreated, it causes 56 percent of liver cancer cases worldwide. Despite universal vaccination programs in place since the 1990s, Shaheen expects prevalence to rise as immigration from affected regions continues.
Where testing gaps are most acute is with hepatitis D, a more aggressive co-infection that can only survive in patients already carrying hepatitis B. Shaheen's examination of Alberta's hepatitis D testing rates found them scattered across the province and concentrated far below what countries with similar hepatitis B prevalence report. "First of all, we are doing a bad job in testing for hepatitis delta," he said. Patients most at risk often are not being tested.
Early diagnosis is crucial—by the time symptoms appear, intervention may be too late. The new protocols aim to improve referral pathways and reduce wait times for specialist evaluation in Calgary.
The facts
How many people in Alberta have hepatitis B?
Approximately 34,000 people in Alberta have hepatitis B.
Where in Alberta are hepatitis B cases concentrated?
Concentrated cases are found in northeast Calgary and north and central Edmonton, areas that correlate with recent immigration patterns from regions where the disease is endemic.
What are the serious consequences of untreated hepatitis B?
Untreated hepatitis B can cause liver scarring, cirrhosis, and cancer, and is responsible for 56 percent of liver cancer cases worldwide.
What testing gap did researchers identify as most acute?
Testing rates for hepatitis D, a more aggressive co-infection that requires hepatitis B to survive, are scattered across Alberta and far below rates reported in countries with similar hepatitis B prevalence.
