About eight million people in Vietnam are infected with hepatitis Bor C virus, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The WHO Vietnam Country Office released the statistics on July 28 on the occasion of the second World Hepatitis Day.
WHOsays globally, approximately 500 million people – or 1 in every 12 –live with either hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Yet awareness of theinfections and their risk factors remains very low. If left untreatedand unmanaged, hepatitis B and C can lead to liver cancer or cirrhosis.In Vietnam , liver cancer is the second leading cause of death inmen.
“Developing national policies for the diagnosis andtreatment of chronic hepatitis B and C infections are criticalpriorities to prevent people from developing cirrhosis and liver cancer,and to avoid the associated deaths,” says Dr. Fabio Mesquita, SeniorAdvisor on HIV at the WHO Vietnam Country Office.
InVietnam , routine immunisation for hepatitis B has been implemented forthe past ten years. In 2011, fifty-five percent of newborns received adose of hepatitis B vaccination at birth, and the coverage for theadditional three dose vaccination reached 95 percent.
Accordingto a 2011 survey, this resulted in a reduction of hepatitis B infectionin children aged five in Vietnam to approximately two percent.
World Hepatitis Day was created two years ago as an opportunity to raise awareness of the different forms of hepatitis
TheWHO is calling on countries and partners to develop effective andtargeted strategies to respond to the hepatitis challenge and raiseawareness of this hidden disease.
WHO is currentlydeveloping new guidance for screening, care and treatment of chronichepatitis B and C infections and is supporting countries to make thattreatment more accessible and affordable.-VNA