#ViralHepatitis – Centre for Family Health Initiative

Viral Hepatitis – Overview

#ViralHepatitis, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Monday Health Burst, PMTCT, Viral Hepatitis, WHO / cfhinitiative

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by a variety of infectious viruses and non-infectious agents leading to a range of health problems which could result in fatality. There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E and they all cause liver disease. However, they differ in significant ways such as modes of transmission, severity of the illness, geographical distribution and prevention methods.

Viral hepatitis B and C leads to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people and together are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and viral hepatitis-related deaths.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), about 354 million people worldwide live with hepatitis B or C, and for most, testing and treatment remain beyond reach and in 2019, approximately 290 000 people died from hepatitis C.

Viral Hepatitis types are contacted through ingestion of contaminated food or water, unsafe contact with infected body fluids, receipt of contaminated blood or blood products, Mother-child transmission, sexual contact etc. Symptoms may be mild or severe at the onset of the infection.

Some types of hepatitis are preventable through vaccination while there is currently no effective vaccine against hepatitis C. Hepatitis if not treated with caution at the early stage will progress to cirrhosis and other chronic conditions of the liver.

WHO’s global hepatitis strategy, aims to reduce new hepatitis infections by 90% and deaths by 65% between 2016 and 2030.

#hepatitis #who #liverdiseases #livercirrhosis #mondayhealthburst #cfhi #unfpa #unicef

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MONDAY HEALTH BURST – VIRAL HEPATITIS IN NIGERIA

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Viral hepatitis is one of the most communicable diseases in the world. It is spread through contaminated blood, intravenous drug abuse and sexual contact with an infected person. In highly endemic areas like sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, hepatitis B is most commonly spread from mother to child at birth (perinatal transmission). In addition, infection can occur during medical, surgical and dental procedures, tattooing, or through the use of razors and similar objects that are contaminated with infected blood. Annually, viral hepatitis affects 400 million people worldwide, causing acute and chronic liver diseases and killing about 1.5 million people (4,000 people daily), mostly from hepatitis B and C. Yet, it is entirely preventable.

Infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the main cause of liver cancer. According to Centre for Disease Control (CDC), viral hepatitis causes 80% of all liver cancer deaths. In Nigeria, liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths, accounting for over 11,000 deaths yearly and 32 deaths every day. Liver cancer is less common among children and teenagers and more common with adults. The average age of occurrence in Nigeria is about 46 years compared to the developed world where the average age of occurrence is in the mid-60s. Also, liver cancer is more common in men with a male: female ratio of about 2 in 1 according to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Liver cancer is rare in children and teenagers.

Every year, July 28 is marked as World Hepatitis Day (WHD). It is a day dedicated to increase the global awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis and the diseases that it causes. This is because research shows that with better awareness and application of its preventive measures, this life-threatening disease could be eliminated, and 4,000 lives could be saved daily.

Centre for Family Health Initiative (CFHI) takes advantage of this special event annually to work towards eliminating viral hepatitis across different states in Nigeria. Aside awareness creation in communities by CFHI, other successful ways employed to curb this menace is to reach out to key populations in Abuja, Nasarawa and Imo states with sensitization programs, vaccination and referrals. These key populations include female sex workers, drug addicts, inmates in correctional centres, worship centres, and people living in hard-to-reach communities. CFHI also carries out street interviews to know the level of awareness of people towards hepatitis and has over the years reached out to over 1000 people.

During the sensitization campaigns, participants are shown different ways of preventing the transmission of viral hepatitis, which include avoiding sharing of needles and other items such as toothbrushes, razors or nail scissors, avoiding tattoos or body piercings from unlicensed facilities and screening of blood donation products, practicing safe sex by minimizing the number of partners and using barrier protective measures (condoms), reducing alcohol intake, obesity, and avoiding aflatoxin prone foods like tree nuts (almonds, cashews, and walnuts), peanut, rice, corn, dried fruits, cereals, among others.

During the street interviews by CFHI, about 40% of the respondents were unaware of what hepatitis really is, neither do they know the means of transmission and preventive measures; 30% agreed to have heard about hepatitis, but never cared much about it; 20% were either infected or affected by HBV or HCV; and 10% had proper knowledge of viral hepatitis and were vaccinated.

To significantly reduce the current hepatitis epidemic, screening and early diagnosis still remains a major tool in preventing transmission of viral hepatitis and other health problems that may result from viral hepatitis infection. There is need for massive awareness and widespread availability of these interventions. With CFHI already facilitating health education, screening as well as vaccination against hepatitis at the grassroots and among key populations, a larger number of persons in Nigeria will be reached with more support.

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MONDAY HEALTH BURST

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Signs and symptoms of Hepatitis

You may be surprised that a lot of persons even with the emergence of the spread of hepatitis are still oblivious to this viral infection. In Nigeria, about 15 million people are unaware that they are infected with hepatitis. Some still believe it to be an illness of the bourgeoisie in the society and so are immune. However, this is not the case.

Viral hepatitis is responsible for over 1.34 million deaths each year, more than HIV/AIDs, Malaria or Tuberculosis. It is also responsible for two of every three liver cancer deaths according to World Health Organization.

Different types of viral hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E are caused by a different type of virus. Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) is always an acute, short-term disease, while Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), C (HCV), and D (HDV) are most likely to become ongoing and chronic. Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) is usually acute and is considered particularly dangerous in pregnant women.

Unlike the infectious forms of hepatitis that are chronic and whose symptoms do not appear in the beginning until the damage affects liver function, like hepatitis B and C, the symptoms of the acute forms of hepatitis do appear quickly and they include: fatigue, flu-like symptoms; dark urine; pale stool; abdominal pain; loss of appetite; unexplained weight loss; yellow skin and eyes among others.

A lot of persons die slowly from chronic hepatitis because its symptoms are often too subtle to notice but with regular checkups, proper vaccination and timely treatment, we just could outsmart this silent killer.

Join us next week on Monday Health Burst for more interesting episodes.

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MONDAY HEALTH BURST

#ViralHepatitis, Health, Viral Hepatitis, WHO / cfhinitiative

VIRAL HEPATITIS

Hepatitis is a viral infection that affects human and destroys liver cells. Got the name “Hepa” from the word “liver”. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), after tuberculosis, the second major killer infectious disease is Hepatitis. The different strains of hepatitis viruses are Hepatitis A Virus (HAV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Hepatitis D Virus (HDV), and Hepatitis E Virus (HEV).

HBV and HCV are mainly transmitted via infected blood or body fluids and they cause severe damage to the liver. HAV and HEV on the other hand, are transmitted orally through contaminated food or water, while HDV can only infect people who are already infected with Hepatitis B virus.

Hepatitis B virus which is the most common type of hepatitis viruses is not yet curable but preventable via the use of vaccine. The primary treatment goal for patients with HBV infection is to prevent progression of the disease, particularly to cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The use of antiviral treatment such as PEGylated interferon (PEG-IFN) or nucleotide analogues are used to prevent HCC.

For HCV, with the use of antiviral agents (>95%) Spontaneous resolution of acute HCV, infection may occur in 15% to 50% of patients hence, monitoring for spontaneous clearance for a minimum of 6 months before initiating treatment is recommended. Patients with acute HCV infection appear to have an excellent chance of responding to 6 months of standard therapy with Interferon (IFN). However, IFN-sparing regimens are safer and are currently recommended for the treatment of acute HCV infection as with chronic HCV infection. Treatment of chronic HCV infection has two goals. The first is to achieve sustained eradication of HCV which is defined as the persistent absence of HCV RNA in serum 12 weeks after completing antiviral treatment. The second goal is to prevent progression to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and decompensated liver disease requiring liver transplantation.

Hepatitis A is also preventable especially in individuals with chronic liver damage with the use of Hepatitis A vaccine. A synergistic approach of suppressing viral load and boosting the patient’s immune response with immunotherapeutic interventions is needed for the best prognosis.

According to WHO, 325 million people are living with HBV and HCV, 900,000 annual deaths caused by HBV infection, 90% of people living with HBV, and 81% of people living with HCV are unaware of their status. World Hepatitis Day, observed on July 28 every year aims to raise global awareness of Hepatitis and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Most strains of hepatitis viruses are not curable but preventable by the use of vaccines aside HCV. Hence, screening of Individuals and vaccination of the unaffected population is important in reducing the spread of the Infection.

Monday Health Burst is an initiative of Centre for Family Health Initiative to tackle issues of basic health concerns. Join us every Monday for more health related articles on all our social media platforms.

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