Two years ago, Jeff Lumsdon walked into a Calgary plasma donation clinic expecting to help someone else. Instead, he left with a diagnosis that would change his own life. After routine blood testing, the 45-year-old received a phone call asking him to come back for additional screening. The follow-up tests confirmed he had chronic hepatitis B — a virus he had never suspected he was carrying. “I went through the five stages of grief really quickly,” Lumsdon said. “I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t immediately depressed, upset, angry, shocked.” Like many Canadians, Lumsdon knew little about hepatitis B before his diagnosis. That lack of awareness is precisely what liver specialists say is allowing thousands of Albertans to live with the virus undetected. A new national survey commissioned and funded by GSK Canada found nearly nine in 10 Canadians have little or no awareness of chronic hepatitis B, while just 14 per cent say they have ever been tested. The virus affects more than 262,000 people nationwide – including an estimated 34,000 in Alberta – and is linked to 56 per cent of liver cancer cases globally. A disease with serious consequences Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver. While some people clear the virus naturally, others develop chronic hepatitis B, which is a lifelong infection that can quietly damage the liver for decades before symptoms appear. “It’s the main cause of end-stage liver disease, or cirrhosis, and liver cancer worldwide,” said Dr. Carla Coffin, a hepatologist and professor of medicine at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. That silent progression is one of the disease’s greatest challenges. “Hepatitis B is asymptomatic, so people can live with it for their entire life without any symptoms until they develop end-stage liver disease,” Coffin said. Because many people never feel sick, they often don’t seek testing. By the time liver damage is discovered, treatment becomes more complicated. The GSK survey found misconceptions extend beyond testing. More than half of Canadians incorrectly believe there is no treatment for chronic hepatitis B, while roughly three-quarters are unaware that vaccination can prevent infection. An accidental diagnosis For Lumsdon, the diagnosis raised more questions than answers. “The very first thing that went through my mind is, ‘How long do I have to live?’” he said. “That was a question that went through my head for probably months because I didn’t know anything about it.” Doctors eventually determined he had chronic hepatitis B and started him on medication to suppress the virus. Today, he undergoes regular monitoring and says his outlook has changed dramatically. “We’ve developed a means to kind of treat it – or at least have some regular medicine that I take here that helps to maintain the current levels that I have,” he said. “Things have turned to a more positive light.” Lumsdon still however doesn’t know exactly when he contracted the virus. What he did discover was that he had never received a hepatitis B vaccine as a child. Born in Saskatchewan in 1981, he was just old enough to miss widespread childhood immunization programs that were introduced in the year following his birth. “My parents thought I was fully vaccinated across the board, but I wasn’t – and it turns out that I never did get the vaccination for hepatitis.” Why Alberta’s screening approach matters Unlike some infectious diseases that are screened routinely, Alberta uses a risk-based approach for hepatitis B. The provincial government says testing is focused on people most likely to benefit, including pregnant women and those with known risk factors. “These screening pathways help health-care providers identify, test and support people living with hepatitis B,” the Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services said in a statement. The ministry also noted that more than 95 per cent of newly reported chronic hepatitis B cases in Alberta in 2024 were acquired outside Canada, and said it continues working with community partners to reduce barriers to testing and treatment. Coffin agrees Alberta has made significant progress in prevention. Since 2018, every infant born in the province has been offered hepatitis B vaccination, providing lifelong protection in most cases. “Infants at two months of age get the vaccine and then they’re protected for the rest of their life,” she said. But adults born before those programs — particularly newcomers from countries where hepatitis B is more common — may still be living with the virus unknowingly. “So, we have a pathway, it’s called the Alberta Primary Care Pathway that guides family doctors and guides patients about who should be tested for hepatitis B,” Coffin added. “The screening is currently just risk based – so, for example, if you think you were exposed to somebody with hepatitis B or born in a country with more prevalent risks to contracting hepatitis B – but you can also just ask for the test, talk to your primary care or family doctor about it and there will be no questions asked.” A growing push for broader screening The Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver now recommends universal hepatitis B screening for adults; a shift Coffin says reflects growing recognition that risk-based testing misses too many people. “Early detection can help prevent serious liver damage,” she said. While there is currently no cure for chronic hepatitis B, antiviral medications can suppress the virus and reduce the risk of liver disease progression. “We have very good, effective antiviral drugs that will reduce the risk of liver disease progression,” Coffin said. “You can live a long and normal life.” For Lumsdon, his diagnosis also exposed how little many people understand about the virus. “There’s a lot of misinformation and a lot of just lack of information regarding the disease,” he said. “I’ve had to take it upon myself to explain about a lot of it to people.” He says that lack of awareness is exactly why more people need to talk about hepatitis B and consider getting tested. “I would implore anybody — whether there’s uncertainty, whether you have this fear that maybe you’ve contracted it — you should get tested,” Lumsdon said. And while his diagnosis was difficult, he now sees knowing as an opportunity to take control of his health. “I’m happy that I know now because I know what I’m looking for,” he said. “If there’s a means for you to get treatment, to get help, to speak with doctors and be able to prolong your life, I would say that is far more beneficial than living without knowing that you have it.”
