Hepatitis solutions sought at Vic summit

Solutions to addressing hepatitis in vulnerable and diverse communities will be discussed at a Victorian summit on Monday.

The summit at parliament brings together Hepatitis Victoria and the Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria to tackle awareness and address stigma attached to the disease.

There needs to be greater focus on prevention, testing and treatment to prevent liver damage in certain communities, the Hepatitis Victoria chief executive Melanie Eagle says.

'Hepatitis is potentially deadly and affects everyone, but culturally diverse and Aboriginal communities face a higher toll," Ms Eagle said.

In Victoria six deaths are week are caused by Hepatitis B and C.

Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria chair Eddie Micallef said they needed to do more than just raise awareness to tackle the preventable disease.

"We need to not only raise awareness, but pull down the potentially deadly barriers of stigma and discrimination that prevent people seeking help," he said.

Hepatitis is prevalent in diverse communities for a range of reasons including access to health services in countries of origin, poor health literacy and socio-economic disadvantage.