26 April 2023

Something historic is happening! Australia could be the first country in the world to eliminate hepatitis C. We have a CURE. Now, Australians need to keep talking about it!

Important conversations about hepatitis C and its cure were brought to the fore in 2022 during the inaugural world-record-attempt-event, Australia’s Biggest Quiz, a landmark event forming part of the Ending Hepatitis C campaign delivered by Hepatitis Australia. The event held in October 2022 attracted close to 5000 participants, with a combination of 16 live events nationwide and an online audience.

This May, Hepatitis Australia will continue to build on the momentum of the inaugural Australia’s Biggest Quiz event with the launch of a month of Quiz MAY-hem!

There’s a prize pool of over $20,000 up for grabs with seasoned trivia buffs and amateurs alike invited to participate online by taking part in 5 weekly quizzes during May. Entry is free and each completed quiz is an entry into the weekly prize draw, with all entries during May going into a grand prize draw. The online quizzes are a simple, easy and fun way for people across the country to help raise awareness of hepatitis C and its cure.

In addition, a collaboration with renowned Australian trivia company, QuizzaMe provides an opportunity for participants to take the Quiz MAY-hem offline. QuizzaMe offers regular, free-to-play trivia events at 150+ venues across the country to thousands of people every week. Australia’s Biggest Quiz will be taking over QuizzaMe’s weekly bonus questions during May, sparking new conversations about hepatitis C with the community along the way.

Whilst the connection between trivia and a health awareness campaign might not be obvious at first, one key barrier to eliminating hepatitis C is lack of knowledge. “Our research shows that relative to other health conditions the public knows little about hepatitis C. Low levels of knowledge and awareness, coupled with often few or no noticeable symptoms means that people may not know they have hepatitis C until it causes liver cancer” cautioned Carrie Fowlie, Chief Executive Officer of Hepatitis Australia. 

The good news is Australia has a cure. It is affordable, highly effective, non-invasive (all tablets, no injections) and takes most people just eight to 12 weeks to complete. “It’s not every day that the world has the chance to eliminate a serious disease like hepatitis C, and whilst Australia’s Biggest Quiz month of Quiz MAY-hem promises to be a lot of fun it is also history in the making,” explains Carrie Fowlie. “The eradication of smallpox, finding a vaccine for polio and the control of the HIV epidemic are seminal moments in world history. We stand on the precipice of another. Hepatitis C has a cure and Australia has the opportunity to be the first country in the world to achieve elimination.”

Australia’s Biggest Quiz MAY-hem is an important step in galvanising the country to achieve that important goal. It is free to take part and anyone can enter. “Ending hepatitis C is an inclusive goal, which every Australian should feel proud of and every Australian is invited to be part of, either at a QuizzaMe venue or online” says Fowlie.

Australia’s Biggest Quiz month of Quiz MAY-hem comes shortly after the launch of the National Hepatitis Information Line (1800 437 222), a free, nationally coordinated and locally delivered confidential support service. The National Hepatitis Information available to anyone, anywhere in Australia. This includes people living with or at risk of viral hepatitis, families, friends, health or social service workers and the general public. Anyone, anywhere in Australia who may have questions or queries about hepatitis C is encouraged to contact the National Hepatitis Infoline.

Australia’s Biggest Quiz month of Quiz MAY-hem kicks off on 1 May 2023. Head to www.australiasbiggestquiz.org to subscribe for further updates, complete the online quizzes or find your nearest QuizzaMe venue. You can  follow Australia’s Biggest Quiz on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for regular updates.

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Notes for editors 

• Further information about hepatitis can be found HERE
• Around 115,000 people in Australia are currently living with the blood-borne virus hepatitis C
• Hepatitis C can be cured
• The World Health Assembly member states have set a target to eliminate hepatitis C this decade (by 2030) and Australia could become the first country in the world to achieve the goal  
• Australia’s Biggest Quiz is the public activation of the Ending Hepatitis C Campaign and is being delivered by Hepatitis Australia
• Hepatitis Australia is the national peak community organisation progressing national action on issues of importance to people affected by viral hepatitis 
• The National Hepatitis Infoline is a free service for anyone with questions about hepatitis, its causes, testing and treatment. It is a nationally coordinated and locally delivered confidential service. Call 1800 437 222 or visit https://www.nationalhepatitisinfoline.org.au/
• The Ending Hepatitis C campaign is part of a suite of initiatives being funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care aimed at finding and curing 50,000 Australians living with hepatitis C by 2023
• Liver cancer, which can result from hepatitis C, is the fastest growing cause of cancer death in Australia

For all enquiries please contact:

Jessica Abbey
Campaign Manager
Hepatitis Australia

E: [email protected]