State's sixth annual Viral Hepatitis Conference to be held July 31

Kentucky will hold its sixth annual conference on viral hepatitis on July 31 in Lexington, three days after World Hepatitis Day.

"Hepatitis in Kentucky: The Role of Professionals in Hepatitis Elimination" will be hosted by the Kentucky Rural Health Association and run from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort in Lexington.

The agenda for the event has not been released. Click here for more information and to register. Continuing education credits will be offered to medical professionals.

The association also offers the Kentucky Hepatitis Academic Mentorship Program, or KHAMP, which is an in-depth training for providers to learn how to treat and test for hepatitis C.

The next KHAMP event will be held the day after the hepatitis conference, Aug. 1. Click here to register. The program is offered throughout the year in varying locations. The following one will be held on Oct. 8 in Benton.

To date, more than 100 providers have taken the training, resulting in over 300 consultations, according to Tina McCormick, executive director of the association.

For more information about the program, contact McCormick at KRHA@twc.com or KRHA.KHAMP@gmail.com.

Hepatitis, a serious liver disease, is a real problem in Kentucky.

The state identified an outbreak of hepatitis A in November 2017. According to the state's weekly report, 4,682 Kentuckians have been diagnosed with hepatitis A and 2,262, or 48 percent, have been hospitalized. Fifty-eight people in the state have died from it. The primary risk factors for getting the highly contagious disease remains illicit drug use and homelessness.

Kentucky also leads the nation in hepatitis C, which is commonly spread by the sharing of needles among intravenous drug users.