Over twenty million Nigerians are suffering from Chronic Viral Hepatitis Infection.
The Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Vincent Okpala made this known during a Press Briefing to Mark the 2019 World Hepatitis Day Celebration held at Jerome Udorji Secretariat, Awka.
According to Dr. Okpala, Nigeria contributes significantly to the burden of Chronic Viral Hepatitis infection globally with the prevalence of eleven percent and two point two percent for viral hepatitis B and C respectively, and this corresponds to above twenty million people living with the virus in a population of over one hundred and ninety eight people that are not aware and are at the risk of developing liver cirrhosis and primary liver cell cancer.
The Commissioner explained that the Anambra State Government through the Ministry of Health is working relentlessly to make the State Hepatitis Free.
The Anambra State Director of Public Health, Dr. Uchechukwu Onyejimbe, appealed for all hands to be on deck in order to create awareness on the menace of hepatitis.
While explaining that, Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver, Dr. Onyejimbe said Viral Hepatitis has five major types which is A,B,C,D and E with varying degrees of Epidemiology, Prevention, diagnoses and treatment, while Hepatitis B infection is a vaccine preventable disease transmitted through infected blood, semen, and other body fluids.
The World Hepatitis day is being celebrated on the twenty eight of July every year and the Ministry of Health in Collaboration with the Rotary Club of Awka Smithtown kicked of the exercise with the Free Screening of the State Civil Servants.
The 2019 theme of the World Hepatitis Day Celebration is “Invest in Eliminating Hepatitis”.
