Hepatitis Patients In The Gambia Need Help (JollofNews) – Many Gambians who have tested positive for hepatitis B are currently in need of antiviral therapy to stop the disease from progressing. A community-based health screening programme conducted between December 2011 and March 2013, found that 379 people out of 4597 individuals from randomly selected rural and urban areas in the country have tested positive for the disease. A large percentage of the people carrying the disease were unaware of their hepatitis status and 8 per cent of them already have advanced liver disease. Hepatitis B is an infectious inflammatory illness of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that affects hominoidea, including humans. The virus is transmitted by exposure to infectious blood or body fluids such as semen and vaginal fluids, while viral DNA has been detected in the saliva, tears, and urine of chronic carriers. According to Maud Lemoine, a consultant in Hepatology with the Medical Research Council (MRC), the people who tested positive for HBV in the screening programme were joined by 240 individuals from a historical community-based cohort of people with HBV from the villages of Keneba and Manduar, for a total hepatitis B study population of 558. Ms Lemoine added that a majority of participants with HBV were women, who she said were not more likely than men to have hepatitis B, but more frequently sought further evaluation and care. "Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and liver cancer -- one of the potential consequences of untreated infection -- is common," she said. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the leading cancer among men and the second among women in West Africa, with at least half attributable to HBV. But screening and management of liver disease are "sorely lacking." Written by PK Jarju
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:53:01 +0000
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