Hepatitis: Need For Healthy Living

Today, July 28, Nigeria is joining the rest of the world to commemorate World Hepatitis Day. This annual
occasion was established by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to enhance global awareness about hepatitis, a group of contagious maladies comprising hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. The fundamental objectives of the day are to promote prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disorder.
This year’s World Hepatitis Day, under the theme “One Life, One Liver,” emphasises the significance of a healthy liver and the necessity of broadening endeavours to prevent, test, and treat viral hepatitis. By prioritising liver health, we can avert liver defects and work towards realising the 2030 hepatitis eradication goals.
The liver handles over 500 integral functions daily, ensuring human survival. However, viral hepatitis bugs often remain unnoticed until the condition has blossomed considerably. Hepatitis B and C, in particular, pose widespread concerns, inducing practically 8,000 new infections each day, with a substantial number going undetected.
Hepatitis-associated deaths outstrip one million each year, with new infections emerging every ten seconds. Maintaining liver health is essential for overall human well-being, and the availability of vaccines and treatments for hepatitis B and C could cut down fatality estimates. We must note that the hepatitis B virus naturally results in liver cancer at a corresponding rate to daily cigarette smoking. Therefore, developing healthy living practices is indispensable.
With COVID-19 no longer an international health emergency, it is vital to drive home a hepatitis-free world and meet the global 2030 targets. The advancement made in curtailing hepatitis B infections, notably in children, shows that success can be attained. However, to secure further progress, we require streamlined primary care services for viral hepatitis.
In 2016, the World Health Assembly committed to getting rid of viral hepatitis as a public health menace by 2030, including ending mother-to-child transmission. However, Nigeria, despite possessing hepatitis B vaccines since 2004, has the highest number of children living with the virus. Disappointingly, in 2022, only 52per cent of infants received the prescribed birth dose and 62per cent completed the 3-dose sequence.
Thankfully, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, in partnership with the Nigerian Primary Health Care Development Agency, the African Field Epidemiology Network, and the Hepatitis B Foundation, conducts training programmes for healthcare workers and community volunteers in 40 healthcare facilities in Nigeria. These programmes aim to strengthen the administration of the hepatitis B birth dose (HepB-BD) and the subsequent 3-dose series (HepB3).
In Africa, hepatitis stands as a massive health consideration, with 70 million people touched and 200,000 deaths ensuing annually. Regardless of the availability of treatment, the impact of this illness recurs. Hepatitis B is the most predominant form of the disease, primarily disseminated through infected body fluids. Other modes of transmission include sexual contact with an infected partner, mother-to-child transmission during childbirth, direct contact with open wounds or infected blood, and sharing of contaminated needles, blades, or toothbrushes.
WHO recommends that all newborns receive a hepatitis B birth dose (HepB-BD) vaccine within 24 hours of delivery. However, by the end of 2022, only 114 out of 194 countries provided a HepB-BD to all newborns. In Africa, where the burden of hepatitis B is highest, only 16 out of 47 countries included hepatitis B beginning dosage vaccination in their routine immunisation programmes. Shockingly, in 2022, particularly, 18per cent of children in Africa received a delivery dose.
The dominant strategy for dealing with hepatitis B is prevention through vaccination. Treatment is possible with oral antiviral drugs, but it requires inveterate use. Treatment suppresses the virus rather than expunging it. Early treatment within the first three months of infection is very much recommended to halt the progression of the infection.
Efforts must be renewed to prohibit the transmission of hepatitis from mother to baby, by ensuring pregnant women are tested and treated. It is momentous to heighten awareness about the plague and promote testing and treatment. Governments should increase their investments in initiatives to expunge hepatitis. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, it is requisite to maintain and strengthen healthcare services.
Nigeria is encountering many health challenges following inadequate health infrastructure, insufficient healthcare investments, limited access to quality health services, and a stagnant health workforce. One of the pressing issues is the escalating pervasiveness of hepatitis, affecting over 18.2 million individuals. To address this pernicious illness, it is necessary for the federal and state governments to implement effective and consistent measures.
Notwithstanding the disruptions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, Nigeria, the giant of Africa, must apportion supplemental domestic resources to accelerate the elimination of hepatitis. By implementing ingenious strategies to reinforce access to information and services, our country can make up for lost time.
Cape Verde, Uganda, and Rwanda have committed colossal resources to ensure a 99per cent birth dose vaccination rate, free national hepatitis B treatment, and free treatment for hepatitis B and C. Nigeria should follow suit. Cape Verde’s government has indeed bankrolled vaccine services and has maintained approximately 98per cent vaccine coverage for decades.
Nigerians encounter a huge burden of illnesses, including hepatitis, requiring swift action to reduce the health encumbrance. To make hepatitis services more accessible, the authorities must take them from specialised hospitals to decentralised facilities, invest in primary healthcare centres, and train more workers to diagnose and treat the virus nationwide.