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breaking the silence of hepatitis b: 'you can live a perfectly normal life'
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“i try to keep it simple. it's a virus i carry, but it is not active and it's not something that’s contagious in daily life,” victor chen says of hepatitis b.
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victor chen wants to change the thinking around hepatitis b, a silent, lifelong infection that doesn’t typically make headlines. most people might recognize the term but don’t know much beyond that, he says. if left undetected and untreated, hepatitis b puts people at serious risk.
victor, 32, has lived with hepatitis b since he was born. he is sharing his story to create awareness and promote access to care. the toronto man moved to canada from taiwan in 2012, then went to university and has stayed, finding rewarding work in public health outreach.
living ‘a very normal life’ with hepatitis b
“i want to emphasize that i really do live a very normal life,” he says, adding that his hepatitis b is not something he hides and if people ask him what it means, he’ll readily explain.
hepatitis b is a virus that attacks the liver, potentially leading to permanent liver damage or cirrhosis. the virus is also a main cause of liver cancer, which can be fatal. the hepatitis b vaccine protects against the virus and is provided free for babies as part of their routine immunizations.
victor goes for regular monitoring to check his liver function and follows healthy lifestyle habits to avoid or limit alcohol, make time for exercise and eat well—all important for good health when you have a chronic condition. alcohol is the main red flag because it’s a toxin processed by the liver, making the liver work harder, which is discouraged for patients.
“i try to keep it simple. it’s a virus i carry, but it is not active and it’s not something that’s contagious in daily life,” he says of hepatitis b. the virus is spread through direct contact with semen and other bodily fluids or infected blood (by sharing needles or syringes).
as well, an infected mother can pass the virus to her baby during childbirth, which is a concern in regions with high hepatitis b prevalence, like taiwan and china.
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“when i bring it up to people, people would say, ‘ok, so what does that mean for transmission?’ like, can we live in the same house? can we share food? can we use the same utensils?'” he says. “those are very common, very normal questions people have. and the good news, of course, is that the answer is yes to all of that. because living in close contact doesn’t transmit the virus.”
victor was born in taiwan and diagnosed with hepatitis b from birth. “the transmission was from my mother. it’s part of my family’s health history; on the maternal side everyone has it.”
science and treatment of hepatitis b have advanced
now, a mother with hepatitis b would be treated over the course of the pregnancy to minimize the viral load before transmission, he continues. “that was not the case at the time i was born,” he says, noting the science and treatment of the virus have advanced. “it is also standard for a newborn of a mother with hep b to receive the vaccine at birth, but if the mother had not received that treatment beforehand, the vaccine could still fail. and that was what happened to me.”
unfortunately, there is a high prevalence of hepatitis b amongst chinese canadians. there is also significant stigma within the community which limits people from speaking out or seeking care. a 2025 report from action hepatitis canada—progress toward viral hepatitis elimination in canada 2025—highlights that canada’s progress toward eliminating hepatitis b remains unclear, with the country’s elimination status listed as “unknown” across all provinces and territories. the finding underscores the need for action.
a new survey by gsk global biopharma company found that nearly nine in 10 canadians have little to no awareness of chronic hepatitis b, and only 31 per cent rank chronic hepatitis b as a high cancer risk, pointing to a significant gap between perception and reality.
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many canadians living with chronic hepatitis b are immigrants from countries with high hepatitis b prevalence and may have lived in canada for decades without a diagnosis. there’s also a high prevalence in canada’s indigenous communities as well, victor points out.
“this is not an immigrant disease. there’s a perception that this is something brought by outsiders, but it’s not,” he says.
advocating for hepatitis b testing and access to care
victor wants to help solve the isolation and misconceptions about the transmission and nature of the disease, and encourage those at risk to get tested and access care and treatment to prevent serious liver damage.
“a lot of people have a lot of questions, especially maybe if you didn’t have hep b before and then get hep b. then you’re like, ‘oh, what has to change?’ and something i want to convey is that if you need treatment, as long as you get it, you can live a perfectly normal life that does not have negative repercussions,” he emphasizes.
“and i think this is true of many chronic conditions as well, so even with something like hiv, it’s something that people can live normally with because our science and medicine have advanced. hep b is not the same disease, of course, but it’s also something that we know how to manage, and with the right knowledge and with the right management and lifestyle, you can live perfectly well and normally.”
victor is part of a chinese language patient support group for people with hepatitis b that has a membership of mostly older chinese-speaking people who’ve lived in canada for decades. he says that members grew up in a time when people knew less about hepatitis b, regarding it with more stigma and more concern.
“historically, this has been a very isolating condition. it has driven a lot of people into being ashamed, feeling like they need to separate themselves from their friends and family. so i really want to emphasize that we have the knowledge, we have the treatment, we can do much better now. and i want to emphasize that having a community of patients and people who support them really helps break down those barriers.”
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world hepatitis day is july 28, 2026.
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