In observance of National Hepatitis Awareness Month—recognized each May—health advocates and professionals are working to decrease the burden of chronic viral hepatitis through awareness and encouraging people to get tested.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 4 million Americans are living with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C and more than 15,000 die each year from liver cancer or diseases associated with the infections. Most do not know they have the virus.

The CDC stresses that with early detection, many people can limit the disease’s progression. They also point out that some population groups—like Asian and Pacific Islanders, baby boomers and African Americans—are disproportionately affected by the disease. The CDC is now providing a 5-minute online hepatitis risk assessment.

For more information, click here.