Committee advances two retroactive CDC hepatitis grants for DPH

The committee considered two resolutions for the San Francisco Department of Public Health to retroactively accept and expend CDC grants. Dr. Melissa Sanchez, project director and principal investigator for both projects, said the first grant supports core and enhanced surveillance for hepatitis B and C—targeting high-risk populations including Asian Pacific Islanders (hepatitis B), baby boomers and injection drug users (hepatitis C), and African American residents. The second grant focuses on hepatitis B screening, testing and linkage to care for chronically infected, foreign-born Asian Pacific Islanders.