Hepatitis B Awareness Campus Campaign Includes Art Exhibit and Live Performances

October 13, 2009

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, University of Houston students, public health experts and cutting-edge performers are joining forces to launch B HERE, a new campus campaign designed to raise awareness of hepatitis B, a life-threatening liver disease that affects up to 2 million people, many of whom are Asian-American, in the United States. 

Chronic hepatitis B is called a “silent killer,” because it often causes no symptoms while it damages the liver. The disease can be diagnosed with a simple blood test and treated with new medicines, yet as many as two-thirds of Asian Americans with chronic hepatitis B do not know they are infected. 

The B HERE campaign comes to the UH campus Tuesday with two free educational and entertaining events including an exhibit featuring up-and-coming young artists who use a variety of mediums to  explore the many facets of hepatitis B. The exhibit runs from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the University Center, Houston Room. Attendance at the exhibit is required to obtain tickets for the live performances.

The other event features live performances from some of the nation’s most entertaining young Asian-American music, dance and comedy acts including emcee and YouTube sensation KevJumba and KABA Modern, an award-winning hip-hop dance act that rose to national fame on MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew.” The concert runs from 6-9 p.m. at Cullen Performance Hall.

The event is organized by Gilead Sciences, a maker of medicines for hepatitis, in conjunction with Sigma Phi Omega and Kappa Delta Phi.

Staff reports