By Fred Doc Nwaozor
Today, 28th July, the
world over is commemorating the 2018 edition of World Hepatitis Day. This year’s
theme is “Eliminate Hepatitis”.
The event, which is observed annually on July 28, was inaugurated by
World Health Organization (WHO) under the auspices of the United Nations (UN)
to raise global awareness on hepatitis or a group of infectious diseases known
as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E, and to encourage the prevention, diagnosis, as
well as the treatment.
The first global World Hepatitis Day was
marked on May 19, 2008 through the effort of the World Hepatitis Alliance in
collaboration with various patient groups. The commemoration received an
international endorsement following the adoption of a resolution during the 63rd
World Health Assembly held in May 2010. The date of the event was later changed
to July 28 each year by the assembly, in honour of the birthday of Nobel
Laureate Baruch Samuel Blumberg – the man who discovered the Hepatitis B virus.
No rational man boasts of anything if his
health condition is at stake. Suffice to say; a healthy life remains the most
precious possession that ever comes to a man regardless of his/her status or
age. In the world today, there are millions of illnesses or diseases in
existence coupled with the ones that seem to have no specific cause or cure.
Among these diseases, some are often referred to be stubborn regarding their
mode of cure while some are seen to be deadly. No doubt, hepatitis is one of
those stubborn or deadly illnesses in existence.
Hepatitis is a medical condition which is
defined as an inflammation of one of the most vital organs in the human body
known as the Liver. It is usually characterized by the presence of inflammatory
cells in the tissue of the organ. The inflammatory condition can be
self-limiting or can heal on its own; but on the contrary, it can progress to
fibrosis or cirrhosis.
Hepatitis may occur with
limited or no symptoms, but often leads to jaundice, poor appetite, and a
feeling of unease. It is referred to as acute when it lasts less than six
months, and chronic when it persists longer. Globally, hepatitis viruses are
the most common causes of the condition, but hepatitis can as well be caused by
other infections, autoimmune diseases, or toxic substances such as alcohol,
certain medications, and some industrial organic solvents and plants.
Initial features of acute
hepatitis are of non-specific flu-like symptoms, which are invariably common to
almost all acute viral infections, and may include fatigue, muscle and joint
aches, fever, nausea diarrhoea, vomiting, and headache. More specific symptoms
which could be present in acute hepatitis from any cause are profound loss of
appetite, aversion to smoking among smokers, excretion of dark urine, and
abdominal discomfort.
A small proportion of people
with acute hepatitis usually progress to acute liver failure, in which the
liver would be unable to remove harmful substances from the blood thereby
leading to confusion and coma due to hepatic encephalopathy. The acute liver
failure may also result to the production of blood proteins which often leads
to peripheral edema and bleeding.
More so, a chronic hepatitis,
which is commonly identified through blood test, is usually characterized with
no symptoms at all. It often leads to the presence of jaundice which indicates
advanced liver damage. On physical examination, there may be enlargement of the
liver. In the same vein, women with autoimmune hepatitis mostly experience
abnormal menstruation, lung scarring, inflammation of the thyroid gland and
kidneys.
Aside the aforementioned two
major classes of hepatitis, it is invariably grouped and recognized by medical
experts based on its common causes. On this note, the different types of
hepatitis in existence that are widely recognized include, Viral hepatitis,
Alcoholic hepatitis, Toxic and drug-induced hepatitis, Ischemic hepatitis,
Giant cell hepatitis, just to mention but a few. Common causes of viral
hepatitis, which is the most rampant type, are the five unrelated hepatotropic
viruses known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E viruses.
There is an estimate that
hepatitis affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide thereby causing
acute or chronic disease and killing close to 1.4 million people every year.
Currently, approximately five hundred (500) million people worldwide are
suffering from either hepatitis B or hepatitis C. If left untreated or
unmanaged, hepatitis B or C can lead to advanced liver scarring known as
cirrhosis and other complications including liver cancer or liver failure.
While many people worry more
about contracting diseases like HIV than hepatitis, the reality is that every
year, at least 1.3 million people worldwide die as a result of either hepatitis
B or C faster than they would in the case of HIV/AIDS. Needless to say that,
hepatitis is indeed a deadly disease. Considering this fact, it is pathetic and
devastating to note that many hepatitis carriers are yet to realize that they
are living with the disease.
Hepatitis groups, patients as well as
advocates worldwide, take part in series of events on every July 28 to mark the
World Hepatitis Day. The World Hepatitis Day is one of the eight official
global public health campaigns being marked by the WHO. As Nigeria joins the
international community to commemorate the remarkable event, there’s need for
collective support as regards creation of awareness on this silent killer known
as ‘Hepatitis’.
The World Hepatitis Day provides
an opportunity to focus on actions such as, but not limited to, raising
awareness on the different forms of hepatitis, their common causes and how they
are transmitted; strengthening prevention, screening, and control of viral
hepatitis and other related diseases; increasing hepatitis B vaccine coverage
cum integration into national immunization programmes; as well as coordinating
a global response to hepatitis.
As Nigeria joins the global community to mark this remarkable day, it’s needless to
state that all hands are expected to be on deck towards ensuring that this
killer disease that has been a colossal societal menace for decades now is duly
eliminated. Think about it!
Comrade Nwaozor, the media ambassador,
is the Publisher of Rostrum Magazine
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