Every year on July 28, World Hepatitis Day (WHD) brings the world together under a common theme to increase awareness of the burden of viral hepatitis around the world and to inspire lasting change.
Dr. Baruch Blumberg, a Nobel Prize–winning scientist who discovered the hepatitis B virus (HBV), developed a diagnostic test for the infection, and created a vaccine to prevent it, hence the date of July 28 was chosen in his honour.
This year’s World Hepatitis Day, with the slogan “One Life, One Liver,” will emphasize the significance of the liver for maintaining good health as well as the necessity of stepping up viral hepatitis prevention, testing, and treatment in order to improve liver health, prevent liver disease, and meet the 2030 hepatitis elimination goals.
The liver is known as one of the most significant organs involved in removing toxins from the blood supply of the human body. It also maintains healthy blood sugar levels, controls blood clotting, and carries out hundreds of other crucial processes to keep us all alive and healthy.
HBV infection can be avoided there are vaccines and efficient therapies available, giving everyone hope.
Both adults and children can receive the hepatitis B vaccine, and hepatitis C can be treated with secure oral medications.
For pregnant women with chronic viral hepatitis B, knowing their status and getting treatment are essential for preventing mother-to-child transmission.
According to a study by Pub Med, HBV is still a major problem in Kenya. In order to contain the disease and eventually eradicate it, urgent public health intervention measures and strategic strategies must be put into place.
The meta-analysis comprised 50 studies with a total sample size of 108448. In Kenya, the estimated cumulative prevalence of HBV was 7.8%.
Blood donors had the lowest prevalence, at 4.1%, while patients presenting with jaundice had the highest prevalence, at 41.7%. Prevalence in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected individuals was 8.2%.
The government will be able to put effective plans in place for the disease’s eradication with the aid of a better understanding of the prevalence of HBV infection, and also funding organisations that go out of their way to help people with the disease.
