A medical practitioner and Executive Secretary of Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (ASHIA) Dr. Simeon Onyemaechi, has disclosed that more than 20 million people in Nigeria are living with Hepatitis B and C.
Dr. Onyemaechi who made this known in Awka, Anambra State, during the 2020 commemoration event of World Hepatitis Day, added that a lot of people are healthy carriers of the disease as many do not avail themselves for rapid testing.
He described screening, early detection and treatment as the only way to tackle the disease.
Speaking on the types and symptom management of Hepatitis, Dr. Onyemaechi stated that hepatitis which is an inflammation of the liver cells, could be caused by microorganisms like viruses, chemicals like drugs, and alcohol among others.
He added that viral hepatitis, A and E have acute course, and are enteric viruses contracted by the ingestion of contaminated food and water, and also explained that hepatitis B and C lead to chronic disease in millions of people globally and is the most common cause of liver inflammation and cancer, which usually occur through contact with infected blood and body fluids.
Dr Onyemaechi noted that symptoms of the disease include fatigue, dark urine, abdominal pain, pale stool, unexplained weight loss, jaundice (yellowing of the eyes), and feeling of ill health.
The medical expert decried that chronic hepatitis management was a big challenge because people do not detect it early as the symptoms were subtle to develop, and advocated vaccination as primary preventive measure, while emphasizing the need for early diagnosis and treatment as the key to cutting the transmission of the virus in the population.
World Hepatitis Day is commemorated yearly on the 28th of July, and this year’s theme is “Find the missing millions”.
The event usually is to enhance awareness of viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that causes a range of health problems, including liver cancer.
According to studies, nearly 1.3 million deaths occur annually due to viral hepatitis worldwide, with 300 million people living with the disease, unaware of their infection status.
He further lamented that amid COVID-19 pandemic, viral hepatitis continues to claim thousands of lives every day.
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