The World Health Organisation (WHO) says no fewer than 91 million Africans are currently living with hepatitis, with around 125,000 hepatitis-related deaths occurring in Africa.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said this on Friday in her message to commemorate 2023 World Hepatitis Day with the theme, “One Life, One Liver”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that World Hepatitis Day is marked annually on July 28 as WHO’s global hepatitis strategy, endorsed by all WHO member states, aimed at reducing new hepatitis infections by 90 per cent and deaths by 65 per cent between 2016 and 2030.
Moeti said the theme sought to emphasise the link between viral hepatitis infection and liver inflammation that is, liver injury and damage and the broader issues of liver health and primary health care.
According to her, 1.2 million new hepatitis infections were detected in 2019 alone and that the majority of the population’s young and active members die from the disease.
She said that hepatitis was a viral infection that primarily affects the liver, causing inflammation and potentially leading to more severe conditions such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Moeti said that most common types in Africa included hepatitis B and C, which could be transmitted through contaminated blood, unprotected sexual activity, or from mother to child at birth.
According to her, infection with the hepatitis B virus is preventable by vaccination, while doctors can now successfully treat hepatitis C, caused by the hepatitis C virus, with antiviral drugs.
She said that hepatitis causes the breakdown of the liver’s normal structure, which prevents the liver from working correctly.
“Hepatitis B is commonly transmitted from mother to child during birth and delivery.
Hepatitis B is also spread through contact with blood or other body fluids during sex with an infected partner, unsafe injections, or exposures to sharp instruments.
“Hepatitis C is spread through contact with the blood of an infected person by unscreened blood transfusions, sharing needles, and unsafe sexual practices that lead to direct exposure to blood,” she said.
According to her, WHO supports regional and national efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030 by providing clear guidance for decentralised and simplified person-centred prevention, testing and treatment of viral hepatitis.
