WHO sounds the bugle for hepatitis prevention

Also of significant concern is that 54% of those questioned have not been tested for hepatitis B, a virus that can remain asymptomatic and undetected but can still be transmitted to others without the person’s knowledge that he or she is infected. “Many people have Hepatitis C for years, not realizing it, while the viral infection slowly destroys their livers”. “Children born to mothers with hepatitis B or C and sex partners of people with hepatitis are also at risk of becoming infected”. Your body can fight it off, as in the case of hepatitis A sufferers, but hepatitis B can develop into chronic hepatitis B, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. It is a silent killer disease that can cause death in the coming years.

The World Health Organisations (WHO) is to use the 2015 World Hepatitis Day, slated for July 28 to highlight the urgent need for countries to enhance action aimed at preventing viral hepatitis infection.

Like any other diseases, practising a good hygiene can help prevent the risk of getting as well as spreading hepatitis.

Thousands of people in Ireland are unaware that they are infected with hepatitis C, the HSE has warned.

Hepatitis C is a life-threatening disease spread by the direct contact with blood from an infected person.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Yury Fedotov, said hepatitis is preventable and “some forms are curable”.

The statement said for many diseases, injections are not the first recommended course of treatment and oral medications could be used. The experts said mass awareness and guidelines for immunization and safe injection practices are essential to reduce the incidence of viral hepatitis.

Hepatitis C infects about 1000 people in New Zealand every year, a number virtually unchanged since 2000.

Talk to your doctor about Hepatitis C if you feel any of the symptoms. I encourage citizens, Government agencies, non-profit organizations, and communities across the Nation to join in activities that will increase awareness about hepatitis and what we can do to prevent it.

He called on anyone who may have put themselves at risk of contracting the virus, even if this risk occurred years before, to visit their GP and get tested. “So unsafe syringes, injections, have a big role to play in an unchecked transmission of Hepatitis virus B and C”.

Leading Hepatitis C authority, Associate Professor Catherine Stedman, says that recent advances in treatments, diagnostic technologies and methods for assessing the stage of disease mean that New Zealand now has the potential opportunity to eliminate Hepatitis C.