20m Nigerians living with hepatitis – Expert

By
Ajuma Edwina Ogiri

A Consultant public health physician, Head of prevention HIV/AIDs and STI Control programme, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike, has revealed that 20 million people in Nigeria are living with viral hepatitis B or C.
Dr. Anyaike, who revealed this in an exclusive interview with Blueprint, noted that viral hepatitis is a silent killer and has been neglected globally, not only in Nigeria.

He added that the government is showing commitment to hepatitis, and Nigeria has moved further than other African countries that also share the same burden of viral hepatitis.
According to him “In 2013, a survey was conducted  that confirmed the burden of viral hepatitis in the country. By the report of that study, we found out that viral hepatitis B was 11 percent and viral hepatitis C was 2.2 per cent. So if you try to juxtapose that in a population of an area of 77 million people, you are roughly going to have 20 million people living with viral hepatitis B or C. I think that is a very big burden for the country, and I think the number of people living with HIV in the country is approximately 3.5 million.

“We have developed strategic plans and also the guidelines and the guidelines of prevention, treatment and care. So that guideline and national strategic plan is going to be disseminated today, 28th of July, which is declared as the World Hepatitis Day.”
The medical expert further disclosed that the mode of transmission of HIV and Viral hepatitis are the same, adding that the risk factors includes “getting yourself exposed to the infected blood, infected body fluid, sharing unsterile needles, tribal mark procedures, tattooing or through the use of razors and similar objects that are contaminated with infected blood.

“Dont share manicure and pedicure kit with other people, it can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse. Limit your multiple sexual partners, if you must, you must use condom to protect yourself. You can also get it through saliva if there is a mucosal damage, because saliva is secreted by the body,” he stressed.
Anyaike, speaking on the availability and affordability of the viral hepatitis vaccine,  said “the problem we have is the cost and availability, and that has been a very big problem because if you go to the hospital now, you will find it difficult to get the test kit.
“The test kit should be an entry point, to test whether you are exposed to viral hepatitis or not. If you are exposed to viral hepatitis that means you are infected  and will be referred for treatment where they will evaluate you and give you the drug.

“If you have not been exposed or infected, you will be vaccinated. Luckily there is vaccine for viral hepatitis B but there is no cure for it. So we can prevent viral hepatitis B. There is cure for viral hepatitis C, but the is no vaccine for the prevention of viral hepatitis C. Prevention should be taken paramount so that we do not run into looking for funds which is no more available for treatment and cure.
“The vaccine cost between N2,500 to N5000, depending on the hospital and where they got from. We also want to partner with those pharmaceutical companies to see that they subsidise the treatment by 50 per cent.
“There are three doses of vaccination, and you must complete them. If you miss one, it wont work for you, so we encourage people to complete the doses. You have the first one, the second one taken after a month and the last one taken after 6 months. In some cases they may call you to come for a booster dose after 5 years.”

“As a prevention specialist, I think that the best way to go is to prevent. That is why the vaccination among the children has been put in our national immunisation protocol, because children have that tendency to get it from their mum if the mum has viral hepatitis B.
He further said including hepatitis vaccine in the national immunisation protocol will prevent babies from having viral hepatitis B, as that would be the first step in eliminating viral hepatitis in Nigeria.
He said: “If we start with prevention among children, and prevention among people of reproductive age and others, we are on the path of eliminating hepatitis.
“This year’s world hepatitis, we are going to create so much awareness for people to go and get themselves tested in order to protect themselves and loved ones. You can only know your status if you go and test.

Today testing is going to be free, if you get tested and you are infected, we will refer you to care, and if you’re negative we will encourage you to get yourself vaccinated to protect yourself.”
According to reports by the World Health Organisation, a staggering 95% of people infected  with hepatitis B or C around the world do not know they are infected. One reason for this is that people can live without symptoms for many years. When they find out they have hepatitis, it is often too late for treatment to be fully effective. As a result, liver damage becomes cirrhosis or liver cancer. The  awareness about the virus is low and treatment is also quite expensive.