11th annual hepatitis conference to be held Oct. 10 in Lexington

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Kentucky, which has one of the highest rates of hepatitis C infection in the nation, will hold its 11th annual Viral Hepatitis Conference on Oct 10.

The conference, hosted by the Kentucky Rural Health Association, is titled, “Looking forward: Integrate-Accelerate-Eliminate.” It will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Embassy Suites at 1801 Newtown Pike in Lexington.

The national keynote speaker will be Dr. Nathan Furukawa, senior adviser for hepatitis C elimination in the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He will discuss his work on developing strategies, programs and partnerships that advance the elimination of hepatitis C in the United States.

The Kentucky keynote speaker will be Dr. Daniel Moore, director of HCV elimination at UK HealthCare Pharmacy Services. His presentation is titled, “UK CURES: Implementation, Evolution, Results.”

Other topics include the elimination of hepatitis in Appalachia, a presentation from the Kentucky Department for Public Health, hepatitis innovations and pharmacy driven solutions, hepatitis and pregnancy, and more.

Click here to register. Individual registration is $50. After Oct. 1, the price increases to $75.

In 2022, the latest data available on the CDC’s website, the rate of reported cases of acute hepatitis C in Kentucky was 5.2 cases per 100,000 people, the fourth highest rate in the nation.