Lagos – The World Health Organisation(WHO) has called for urgent positive actions to prevent viral hepatitis infection and to ensure that people infected were diagnosed and treated by countries.
This is contained in a statement by WHO ahead of the 2015 World Hepatitis Day (WHD) which comes up on July 28 with the theme: `Prevention of Viral Hepatitis’.
“This year focuses particularly on hepatitis B and C, which together cause approximately 80 per cent of all liver cancer deaths and kill close to 1.4 million people annually,”WHO said.
According to the statement, hepatitis can be contracted from unsafe blood, unsafe injections, and sharing drug-injection equipment.
“Some 11 million people who inject drugs have hepatitis B or C infection; children born to mothers with hepatitis B or C and sex partners of people with hepatitis are also at risk of becoming infected.
“There is need for all health services to reduce risks by using only sterile equipment for injections and other medical procedures.
“There is also need to test all donated blood and blood components for hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV and syphilis and to promote the use of the hepatitis B vaccine.
“Safer sex practices, including minimising the number of partners and using barrier protective measures (condoms) also protects against transmission,”It stated.
The statement urged everyone to demand for safe injections as eliminating unnecessary injections was also an effective strategy to protect against the transmission of hepatitis.
It said that these infections could be averted through the use of sterile syringes that were specifically designed to prevent reuse.
According to it, approximately two million people annually contract hepatitis from unsafe injections.
WHO also recommended vaccinating all children against hepatitis B infection, of which approximately 780, 000 people die from each year.
“Since 1982, over one billion doses of hepatitis B vaccine have been used worldwide and millions of future deaths from liver cancer and cirrhosis have been prevented,”WHO said.
The body said that to date, there was no available vaccine against hepatitis C , urging people to get tested and seek prompt treatment.
“Medicines are now available that can cure most people with hepatitis C and control hepatitis B infection.
“People who receive these medicines are much less likely to die from liver cancer and cirrhosis and much less likely to transmit the virus to others.
“People who think they might have been exposed to hepatitis should get tested so they can find out whether they need treatment to improve their own health and reduce the risk of transmission.
“The use of simple non-invasive tests to assess the stage of liver disease to help identify who needs treatment is recommended for the treatment of hepatitis’’, the statement said.(NAN)