Around 226,000 Australians are living with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and approximately 170,000 Australians are living with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) can lead to cirrhosis, liver damage or liver cancer.

In the Northern Territory (NT) between 3 and 11 per cent of Aboriginal people live with CHB and approximately 1.9 per cent live with CHC. Hepatitis B has a vaccine and hepatitis C has a cure, which means the virtual elimination of viral hepatitis is possible.

Our research focus:
  • To measure the disease burden caused by HBV infection in the NT
  • To use novel approaches to make testing for HBV and liver cancer easier
  • To understand the impact of a novel HBV genotype on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Northern Australia to improve vaccination and disease management strategies
  • To use a partnership approach to sustainably eliminate hepatitis B from the Aboriginal population in the NT
  • Using nurse-led, peer-based models of care to diagnose and treat hepatitis C in the community
Our research impact:
  • Discovered a new genotype of HBV – HBV/C4. This genotype is unique to Aboriginal Australians in the NT and its surface protein is different from other HBVs. As a result, we will conduct studies to determine whether the vaccine given to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants is as effective as first thought.
  • Found high rates of liver cancer in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, which are mainly due to HBV infection. It is possible that the HBV/C4 genotype is more aggressive than other strains.
  • In partnership with remote communities, we have developed a culturally appropriate HBV educational resource and translated this into 11 Aboriginal languages, covering the first language of at least 70% of the Aboriginal NT population 
  • Identified the hepatitis B sero-status of over 90% of Aboriginal clients in Top End and Central Australia Health Services.
  • In partnership with the Aboriginal health workforce, developed a hepatitis B management education course, along with a transferable model for the development of culturally safe training. 
Key staff:
  • Prof Jane Davies, Program Director
  • Dr Paula Binks, Co-Deputy Director
  • Dr Kelly Hosking, Co-Deputy Director
  • Hannah Reedy, Project Coordinator
  • Jacqueline Grant, Project Assistant
  • Aimon Riyana, Project Coordinator
  • Anngie Everitt, Research Nurse Practitioner
  • Dale Thompson, Research Nurse Practitioner 
  • Peter Coombs, Senior Research Fellow - Ultrasound
  • Megan Hughes, Research Nurse
  • Harriet Clarke, Research Nurse
  • Katie McGuire, Research Nurse
  • George Gurruwiwi, Community Based Researcher
  • Professor Josh Davis, Honorary Fellow
  • Sarah Bukulatjpi, Honorary Fellow
  • Jennifer Maurier, Sonographer
Partner Organisations:

  • Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service 

  • Cancer Council Australia

  • Central Australian Aboriginal Congress

  • Danila Dilba Health Service

  • Hepatitis Australia

  • Hepatitis B Voices Australia

  • Katherine West Health Board

  • Mala’la Health Service

  • Marthakal Homelands Health Service

  • Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation

  • National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)

  • Northern Territory AIDS & Hepatitis Council

  • NT Department of Health

  • Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation

  • The Australasian Society for Sexual Health, HIV and Viral Hepatitis Medicine (ASHM)

  • The Burnet Institute

  • The NT Aids and Hepatitis Council (NTAHC)

  • Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory

  • Wurli-Wurlinjang Health Service

  • Red Lily Health Board

 

Funders
  • Australian Centre for Disease Control
  • Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
  • Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council
Current Projects: 
Past Projects:
  1. Martin GE, Hosking K, Banz K, Gargan C, Stewart G, Greenwood-Smith B, Ramsay P, Tate-Baker J, Connors C, Binks P, McKinnon M, Manchikanti P, Gurruwiwi GG, Allard N, Qama A, Michaels J, Vintour-Cesar E, Batey R, Marshall C, Nihill P, Fernandes TA, Fuller K, Tong SYC, Boettiger D, Cowie B, Davis JS, Bukulatjpi SM, Davies J on behalf of the Hep B PAST Partnership. Disease progression and treatment need in sub-genotype C4 hepatitis B infection: a retrospective cohort study in the Northern Territory, Australia. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2025 Jul 1;25(1):881. doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-11213-w.
  2. Sullivan, Richard., Bukulatjpi, Sarah., Binks, Paula., Hosking, Kelly., Nundhirribala, Patricia., Vintour-Cesar, Emily., McKinnon, Melita., Gurruwiwi, George., Green, Anna., Davis, Joshua., Davies, Jane. (2024). “They feel shame sometime, but that is why we need to talk to them…we need to tell them how important it is not to feel shame”: Hepatitis B related shame and improving hepatitis B care in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the Top End of the Northern Territory, according to the Aboriginal health workforce. Archives of Public Health. 82. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-024-01389-z
  3. Howell J, Combo T, Binks P, Bragg K, Bukulatjpi S, Campbell K, Clark PJ, Carroll M, Davies J, de Santis T, Muller KR, Nguyen B, Olynyk JK, Shackel N, Valery PC, Wigg AJ, George J, Roberts SK. Overcoming disparities in hepatocellular carcinoma outcomes in First Nations Australians: a strategic plan for action. (2024) MJA 221(5):230-235 https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52395
  4. Hosking K, Binks P, De Santis T, Wilson P, et al. Evaluating a novel model of hepatitis B care, Hep B PAST, in the Northern Territory of Australia: results from a prospective, population-based study. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, Volume 48,2024,101116, ISSN 2666-6065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2024.101116
  5. Binks, P., Venkatesan, S., Everitt, A., Garambaka Gurruwiwi, G., Dhurrkay, Bukulatjpi, S.M., R., Ross, C., Alley, T., Hosking, K.,Vintour-Cesar, E., McKinnon, M., Sullivan, R., Davis J.S., Hefler, M., Davies J. (2024). “An evaluation and refinement of the ‘Hep B Story’ app, tailored to meet the community’s cultural needs”. BMC Health Service Research 24: 710. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11149-y 
  6. Binks, P., Gurruwiwi, G.G., Dhurrkay, R.G., Bukulatjpi, S.M., Ross, C., Hosking, K., Tate-Baker, J., Marshall, C., McKinnon, M., Vintour-Cesar, E., Sullivan, R.P., Davis, J.S., Hefler, M., Davies, J. (2024). “Talking about something no one wants to talk about” - navigating hepatitis B-related work in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: a decade of learning and growth. Discover Health Systems 3:13 https://doi.org/10.1007/s44250-024-00075-9
  7. Binks, P., Ross, C., Gurruwiwi, G.G., Wurrawilya, S., Alley, T., Bukulatjpi, S.M., Vintour-Cesar, E., Hosking, K., Davis J.S., Hefler, M., Davies J. (2024). “Adapting and translating the ‘Hep B Story’ App the right way: A transferable toolkit to develop health resources with, and for, Aboriginal people”. Health Promotion Journal of Australia 11 (1).  http://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.858
  8. Hosking, K., De Santis, T., Vintour-Cesar, E., Wilson, P. M., Bunn, L., Garambaka Gurruwiwi, G., Wurrawilya, S., Bukulatjpi, S. M., Nelson, S., Ross, C., Stuart-Carter, K.-A., Ngurruwuthun, T., Dhagapan, A., Binks, P., Sullivan, R., Ward, L., Schroder, P., Tate-Baker, J., Davis, J. S., … Davies, J.. (2024). “Putting the power back into community”: A mixed methods evaluation of a chronic hepatitis B training course for the Aboriginal health workforce of Australia’s Northern Territory. PLOS ONE, 19(1), e0288577. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288577 
  9. Hosking, K., De Santis, T., Vintour-Cesar, E., Wilson, P. M., Bunn, L., Gurruwiwi, G. G., Wurrawilya, S., Bukulatjpi, S. M., Nelson, S., Ross, C., Binks, P., Schroder, P., Davis, J. S., Taylor, S., Connors, C., & Davies, J. (2023). “The most culturally safe training I’ve ever had.” The co-design of a culturally safe Managing hepatitis B training course with and for the Aboriginal health workforce of the Northern Territory of Australia. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2830413/v1
  10. Sullivan, R.P., Davies, J., Binks, P, McKinnon, M., Dhurrkay RG., Hosking, K., Bukulatjpi SM., Locarnini, S., Littlejohn, M., Jackson, K., Tong SYV., Davis, JS. Preventing early childhood transmission of hepatitis B in remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. Int J Equity Health 21, 186 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-022-01808-z
Click here to view more hepatitis b publications in PubMed.
Hep B PAST Project updates:

 

  1. Hep B Story App

  2. Hep B Colloquium – Session 4, Implementation of HBV Research into Practice

  3. Hep B Colloquium – Session 3, Community Perspectives

  4. Hep B Colloquium – Session 2, Laboratory Perspectives

  5. Hep B Colloquium – Session 1, Global and Regional Perspectives

  1. MEDIA RELEASE | Landmark study reveals hepatitis B risks for First Nations people in the NT

  2. MEDIA RELEASE | Nationally recognised hepatitis B tool now available in 11 languages

  3. HEP VOICE Magazine - October - December 2023

  4. MEDIA RELEASE | Hep B program highlights expertise as CDU Menzies School of Medicine seeks more student placements in the NT

  5. MEDIA RELEASE | Crucial tool to assist in the elimination of Chronic Hepatitis B launched

  6. Five medical research projects recognised in the Northern Territory

  7. Innovative data use an important step in eliminating hep B

  8. Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre supports new phone App

  9. Hepatitis B DNA Helps Trace History and Movement of First Australians

  10. Hepatitis B virus sheds light on ancient human population movements into Australia

  11. Chronic hepatitis B elimination partnership launched

  12. Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities

  13. Katherine Times | Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities

  14. Chronic hepatitis B to be eliminated from the Northern Territory

  15. ABC online | Elcho Island researchers bound for Alaska