Accra, July 28, GNA – Ghana is joining the rest of the global community today to observe this year’s World Hepatitis Day (WHD) to create awareness of the condition.
The Day also seeks to highlight the need to accelerate the fight against viral hepatitis and to influence real change.
Hepatitis is an inflammatory condition of the liver and commonly caused as a result of a viral infection.
The five main viral classifications of hepatitis are hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E with different viruses responsible for each type of viral hepatitis.
World Hepatitis Day is celebrated in honor of Dr Baruch Blumberg’s birthday.
Dr Blumberg discovered the hepatitis ‘B’ virus in 1967 and subsequently developed the hepatitis ‘B’ vaccine two years later in 1969.
Hepatitis ‘B’ vaccines are available for preventive treatment. Even though hepatitis ‘C’ has no vaccine, it is curable.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection poses a significant global health problem with an estimated 350-400 million chronically infected individuals worldwide.
Hepatitis B and C are the most common of the conditions and result in 1.1 million deaths and 3 million new infections per year.
A global report by WHO indicates that 296 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B infection, 58 million persons with hepatitis C, and 1.5 million new infections each year, with 820,000 hepatitis B-related deaths.
Ghana in 2015 recorded 12.3 per cent of chronic hepatitis B, 1.5 million new infections, and a total of 820,000 deaths with 6.6 million on treatment.
In 2019, 3.3 per cent was also recorded for chronic hepatitis C, 1.5 million new infections, 299,000 deaths, and 9.4 million on treatment.
The 2023 WHD is on the theme: “One Liver, One Life”.
To this end, the WHO has charged countries to put in place interventions and specific targets to achieve hepatitis elimination by 2030.
As part of interventions towards hepatitis prevention, Ghana will 2024 introduce a Hepatitis B birth dose vaccine to help protect newborns and prevent the prevalence of the disease in the country, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has said.
Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General GHS, said plans were far advanced to ensure that there were enough vaccines, the population prepared, and the appropriate systems and structures in place ahead of the take-off.
Dr Atsu Godwin Seake-Kwaku, Programme Manager, National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme, Ghana Health Service, said, in 2022, the hepatitis B burden in pregnancy was dominant in the Northern region with 17.5 per cent in the Northeast in a serosurvey conducted.
Dr Seake-Kwaku said it was, therefore, important to increase prevention, testing, and link to cure, treatment, and chronic care as the cost of medication for treatment was expensive.
As part of activities to commemorate the day, there will be free hepatitis health screening across the country.
Hospitals undertaking the screening exercise include Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital, district hospitals, schools, and marketplaces.
GNA