World Hepatitis Day, 28 July: What is India doing?
World Hepatitis Day, 28 July: What is India doing?
In a recent
report, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a statement
indicating that India has not done enough to check the spread of
hepatitis B. It said that India lacks an initiative along the lines of
the polio eradication programme that can launch effective nationwide
strategies to eradicate hepatitis. Further, the monitoring of hepatitis
vaccination of children is not undertaken uniformly across the
country.According to WHO, around 4-6 crore people have hepatitis B in
India, and around 1 lakh die annually due to viral hepatitis. As many as
8 out of 10 cases of liver cancer can be attributed to hepatitis B, and
overall, it is the second most common cancer causing agent after
tobacco. On the other hand, hepatitis C infection is much more common
than HIV infection in India. With the World Hepatitis Day about to be
observed on 28 July, it is time that this serious condition is given its
due in the public health arena, and programmes are initiated to curb
its spread.
World Hepatitis Day, 28 July: What is India doing? |
Classification and Symptoms of Hepatitis
Hepatitis is
the collective term used to describe the liver infections caused by a
group of viruses belonging to various genotypes. Hepatitis A is a
hepatovirus, while hepatitis B belongs to the hepadnavirus genotype. The
other types – C, D & E – are RNA viruses that resemble other
genotypes. Of these, types A and E are transmitted through contaminated
food and water, and cause a less severe infection. Types B, C and D are
transmitted through the sexual and blood transfusion routes, and can
cause chronic or fatal liver infections.Hepatitis B, the commonest of
the sexually transmitted types, initially presents with fever, body
ache, loss of appetite and jaundice, although one could be asymptomatic
even during acute infection. In a vast majority, the infection subsides
within a span of one year. Chronic cases are more likely to occur among
children; and in one-fifth of adults with chronic hepatitis B infection,
cirrhosis and/or cancer of liver could occur.
World Hepatitis Day, 28 July: What is India doing? |
Prevention of Hepatitis
As with most
viral illness, there is no treatment that can effectively cure the
condition. Even the two antiviral antibiotics recommended by WHO –
tenofovir and entecavir – only stop the replication of the virus, and
treatment with them is usually recommended lifelong. Prevention through
vaccination is still the best way to check the spread of hepatitis B,
and immunization schedules are drawn right from birth to adulthood. In
particular, the following vulnerable groups of population should be
covered with active immunization:• All medical and paramedical personnel
• Patients requiring blood transfusion and/or dialysis
• Intravenous drug abusers
• Individuals with multiple sexual partners
• Family members and sexual partners of those with chronic hepatitis B infection
• Travelers to countries which have high endemicity of hepatitis
• Neonates of hepatitis B infected mothers
• Individuals with low immunity
In India this
year, the employees of the Mumbai electricity board are being screened
for Hepatitis B in collaboration with a multinational pharmaceutical
company. Earlier this year, a new drug called sofosbuvir was launched in
India, which is said to dramatically improve cure rates of hepatitis C
infection. In May this year, the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences
in Delhi was taken on board by the WHO as a collaborating centre for
viral hepatitis and liver disorders. Apart from generating data on the
illness, one of the key functions of this alliance is to improve access
to the preventive and curative aspects of hepatitis treatment.
In keeping with
the theme of hepatitis day this year – ‘Prevention of Viral Hepatitis’ –
it is vital that hepatitis detection, awareness and prevention
programmes are undertaken at multiple levels of public health care.
World Hepatitis Day, 28 July: What is India doing?
Reviewed by Newstechcafe
on
July 25, 2015
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