This is Hepatitis. Know it. Confront it.
My Dear fellow Tibetans and friends,
The 28th of July 2013 marks the World Hepatitis Day. This day signifies the birthday of Professor Baruch Blumberg who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in discovering the hepatitis B virus. The day is an annual event that provides international focus on awareness to people about this silent deadly disease and its prevention, screening, follow up diagnosis and treatment.
It is seen that chronic viral hepatitis neither has the level of awareness nor political commitment compared to other communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria has in the World. World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, starting from 2010, with the focus on national and international awareness-raising efforts, thus endorsed the World Hepatitis Day. The overall theme of this World Hepatitis Day 2013 is “This is Hepatitis. Know it. Confront it.”
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver and also refers to a group of viral infections that affect the liver. The most common types are Hepatitis A, B and C. Viral hepatitis is also the leading cause of liver cancer. Hepatitis is caused by a group of viruses known as hepatitis viruses. Hepatitis A is usually spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with its virus. Whereas hepatitis B is also a sexually transmitted disease, spread only from infected mother to child, direct contact with infected blood, semen and other body fluids. Hepatitis C is spread most commonly through direct contact with the blood of a person who is infected. Many people with hepatitis either experience mild symptoms or none at all. When symptoms do occur in what is called the acute phase of hepatitis, it may include diarrhea, fatigue, mild fever, loss of appetite, muscle or joint aches, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. As the condition worsens from the acute phase, the patients may develop symptoms like drowsiness, headache, hives, dark urine, light colored feces and jaundice.
Hepatitis affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, causing acute and chronic disease and killing approximately 1.4 million people every year. Of the millions that continue to live with chronic infection of hepatitis B or C, most people are unaware that they are carrying the virus. Therefore, these people continue to be at high risk of developing severe chronic liver disease and more importantly, they continue to transmit the virus to other people unknowingly, thereby increasing the burden of hepatitis in the community.
Hepatitis B is widely recognized as one of the leading health problems among Tibetans because a large proportion of Tibetans are believed to be infected with hepatitis B which poses a huge public health challenges to the CTA and our community. However, because chronic hepatitis infections are often without symptoms until severe and irreversible liver disease occurs, the presence of the disease can be hidden from the infected individual and the community as a whole.
Accurate measurement of how much hepatitis B is present in the community can be valuable for health services planning, community awareness, and advocacy for more funding and support for this important disease. In partnership with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, we have launched a study to identify the number of hepatitis B in the Tibetan community of Bylakuppe and to assess patterns of transmission. The study will include hepatitis B testing at selected households, Monastery, and school in Bylakuppe. We anticipate preliminary results by the end of October of this year. The results of this study will help with planning for hepatitis B Education, prevention and treatment programs.”
The cause of such high prevalence of hepatitis B in our community could be varied, including lack of awareness, lack of knowledge and social misconceptions.
On this World Hepatitis Day, I would like to send following messages of utmost importance to every Tibetans regarding hepatitis.
- First, it is vital to learn and know about this deadly disease. Being aware of it is the first step in our effort to control this ‘silent epidemic’.
- Second, if you do not know your Hepatitis status, it is very important to get yourself tested whether you are affected or not. You can go to the local hospital and ask about how you can get tested for Hepatitis.Especially for pregnant women to get blood tested for Hepatitis B and C during pregnancy is must.
- Third, Hepatitis A and B are also vaccine preventable disease. If you are not infected and never receive preventive vaccination, you should get vaccinated to protect yourself and your family from Hepatitis A and B virus. Hepatitis A and B vaccines are available at all our major hospitals and health care centers.
Every child should be vaccinated against Hepatitis B, which can be prevented by reaching every child with universal immunization program that include hepatitis B vaccine. All infants should receive the complete course of Hepatitis B vaccine, which is free up to the age of five. Although hepatitis A and B can be prevented with vaccines and are recommended for all children, no vaccine exists for hepatitis C, therefore, early detection and treatment can stop transmission and limit the disease.
- Fourth, once diagnosed with hepatitis, it is very important to see doctor and get proper and regular follow up testing and treatment whenever needed so as to limit the disease’s progression, prevent seriouscomplications like liver cancer and prevent its transmission to others. Proper diet and preventative measures can reduce the effects of hepatitis and medications can cure some people.
- The hepatitis B virus is not spread by contaminated food or water or touch and cannot be spread casually in the workplace.
I encourage all Tibetans to take an active role in knowing about this disease by talking to various health care personnel about hepatitis prevention and learning about our role in staying healthy. We can teach our family members, our community, our children and our loved ones about hepatitis and its prevention and control.
The Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Health thus recognizes these problems as utmost serious public health challenges and strives to solve it with the belief that transmission of hepatitis can be prevented and stopped in our community if we work together. We continue to make concerted efforts to control the spread of the disease by providing education, vaccination, and treatment to the community. We are committed in addressing this issue of preventing and controlling hepatitis particularly Hepatitis B in our Tibetan communities and your support can only help us to achieve our vision of hepatitis -free Tibetan community. Together we can stop and eradicate viral hepatitis.
It is time to realize now that with informed awareness among the public, proper knowledge and effective access to prevention and treatment, hepatitis can definitely be confronted and stopped!
Dr.Tsering Wangchuk
Department of Health
Central Tibetan Administration
