One in 12 people worldwide is living with either chronic Hepatitis B or C. Every year 1.5 million people die from it. In Malaysia alone, 2.5 million individuals live with this disease and 25% of these individuals are at risk in contracting chronic liver cirrhosis. This is Hepatitis and we cannot hide from the fact that it is on the rise.
While this rate is far higher than the prevalence of HIV or any cancer, awareness is enigmatically low and the majority of those who are infected are unaware of its dangers.
In order to combat the lack of awareness, the World Hepatitis Day was launched by the World Hepatitis Alliance in 2008 and is celebrated worldwide on July 28th every year. This year, Malaysia too has joined forces with the rest of the globe in commemorating World Hepatitis Day for the very first time.
In conjunction with this, we managed to get two of our distinguished doctors; Dr Thye Yuen Lin and Dr Mary Peter in providing us with some important insight on Hepatitis vaccination and Assunta’s role in aiding the awareness cause.
“We at Assunta Hospital take prevention very seriously and Hepatitis is one disease that can be conveniently prevented.” says Dr Thye, Assunta Hospital’s Consultant Physician and Nephrologist. She adds that Assunta Hospital has been continuously providing pertinent and up-to-date information to patients and the public in order to raise awareness and understanding of Hepatitis. This stand is very much in line with the core global objectives of the World Hepatitis Day.
Dr Thye also says that immunization is a key component in preventing hepatitis. As a physician, she has encountered several cases where patients come to her with acute liver problems caused by Hepatitis B and they were caught unaware of the presenting symptoms such as mild flu like symptoms, dark coloured urine, fatigue and light stools. “Why go through the agony of potential liver cirrhosis when there is method to prevent it? Hepatitis B vaccination is readily available in the market and prevention (an injection) is certainly less painful.” adds Dr Thye.
Currently there is vaccination available for two of the more common Hepatitis types; Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. Among the different types, Hepatitis B is identified as one of the most common viral infections in the world and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 2 billion people have been infected worldwide. In fact the Hepatitis B virus is so infectious that it is about 50-100 times more infectious than HIV, according to data gathered from the World Hepatitis Alliance.
These days, early Hepatitis B vaccination for newborn babies has been made compulsory in many countries including Malaysia and this clearly shows the importance given to the prevention of Hepatitis B.
“People tend to overlook the fact that children do not have the strongest of immune systems and are very susceptible to viral attacks. In most cases, Hepatitis B can spread to the newborn baby through the mother.” reveals Dr Mary Peter, Assunta Hospital’s Consultant Paediatrician. She adds that Hepatitis B presents itself as a mild infection, especially in children and it is possible for some to be unaware that they are afflicted by this illness. “Most people would be wondering that vaccination against Hepatitis B is not that important compared to the other standard vaccinations but would you want your child to be a another potential victim of liver failure. No parent would wish this upon their new born child.” stresses Dr Mary.
Assunta Hospital has been actively advocating the importance of vaccination and this was highlighted during our health events. In conjunction with this global awareness on Hepatitis, Assunta Hospital organized on-site vaccination programmes as well as a comprehensive screening initiative to detect the prevalence of Hepatitis during the month of July. The trained and diligent staff of Assunta Hospital have been actively educating the patients and the public on the importance of early prevention through vaccination. The awareness campaign was a huge hit among the general public and many had their vaccinations done while being able to consult our trained medical staff on their queries on Hepatitis.
Vaccination packages are now readily available in Assunta Hospital at very reasonable rates for the benefit of the general public. This is Hepatitis and this is your chance to fight it!
