The growing hepatitis threat

Nigeria joined other countries at the end of last month to mark the 2015 World Hepatitis Day (WHD) dedicated to raise global awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis and the opportunistic diseases it causes. This year’s theme of the 2015 WHD called for ‘Preventing Hepatitis. Act Now,’ an apt declaration for a country, like Nigeria, […]

Nigeria joined other countries at the end of last month to mark the 2015 World Hepatitis Day (WHD) dedicated to raise global awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis and the opportunistic diseases it causes.
This year’s theme of the 2015 WHD called for ‘Preventing Hepatitis. Act Now,’ an apt declaration for a country, like Nigeria, where awareness of the deadly but preventable infection is abysmally low.
Hepatitis is the inflammation of tissues of the liver caused by a group of viruses known as hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. The liver is an indispensable organ that performs several important functions in the body like breaking down and storing many of the nutrients absorbed from the intestines, producing most of blood clotting elements that prevent excess bleeding from cuts and injuries, release of bile into the intestines and cleansing of harmful substances from the blood.
Viral hepatitis, which is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, affects about 400 million people globally, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Hepatitis Alliance, causing acute liver diseases that kill about 1.5 million people yearly or 4,000 every day, mostly from hepatitis B and C.
Health officials believe that between 20 and 23 million people are infected with mostly hepatitis B in Nigeria, which has a prevalence rate of about 13.7 percent, making it one of the few countries with the highest number of cases in the world.
Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Nigeria, claiming over 11,000 lives yearly or 32 deaths per day, according to medical experts. The average age of infection in the country is put at 46 years, compared to mid-60s in developed countries. Hepatitis kills faster than AIDS and hepatitis B is said to be 50-100 times more infectious than HIV.
Experts also say that the hepatitis B virus can survive outside the body for at least seven days, during which time it can still cause infection if it enters the body of a person who is not protected by vaccination. The incubation period for the virus is 75 days on the average but it can vary from 30 to 180 days.
Despite this troubling data on Nigeria, the disease has attracted very little attention from both the government and the people. Tragically, most of those infected are unaware of their condition because they do not experience any symptoms until they are chronically ill, thereby unknowingly infecting others in their communities.
Hepatitis is no doubt a serious public health issue in Nigeria. It is spread through mucosal exposure to infected blood and various body fluids, as well as through saliva, menstrual, virginal and seminal fluids. It can also occur through unprotected sexual intercourse and reuse of needles as well razor blades either in healthcare settings or among people who inject drugs.
Hepatitis deserves more attention than the authorities are giving it at the moment, because there is a very low level of awareness of the disease and its management not only in rural areas but even among the elite.
Though a vaccine against hepatitis B, which is said to be 95 percent effective in preventing infection, has been available since 1982, very few Nigerians know about it or where to get vaccinated because of lack of proper public enlightenment health careofficers.
This is why it is imperative for the federal government to map out comprehensive national plans to tackle this silent killer, especially in rural communities where the situation is believed to be worse. Government should also provide treatment access and support for those already infected as the cost associated with treatment from the few available specialist centres is far beyond the reach of the ordinary Nigerian.
Development agencies and pharmaceutical companies can also weigh in by providing support for the treatment of hepatitis in Nigeria, while churches and mosques can help with spreading the message.
There is the urgent need to enlighten the public about hepatitis B and C, especially on the need to prevent infection since, unlike HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, which are supported by donor funds, control is not yet subsidised and hepatitis patients have to bear the cost of their testing, vaccine and treatment, which many cannot afford.