MANILA, Philippines—Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus.
The World Health Organization estimates that some 2 billion people are infected with the virus with another 350 million suffering from long-term liver infections because of it.
What is alarming is that over time liver inflammation and injury could progress to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), liver failure and liver cancer.
Liver cancer is almost always fatal and often develops in people at an age when they are most productive and have family responsibilities. In developing countries like the Philippines, most people with liver cancer die within months of diagnosis. Those, who could afford and undergo surgery and chemotherapy, could prolong their life but up to a few years in a lot of patients.
Patients with cirrhosis, on the other hand, are sometimes given liver transplants but with varying success.
More infectious
Dr. Eric Tayag, officer in charge of the Department of Health’s National Epidemiology Center, said the HBV is 50 to 100 times more infectious than human immunodeficiency virus and unlike HIV, the HBV can survive outside the body for at least seven days, making it even more dangerous.
“Since HBV is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person, it becomes a major infectious occupational hazard among healthcare workers here in the country,” Tayag warned during a media information session held at the GlaxoSmithKline headquarters in Makati City.
Tayag added that these individuals, which number almost half a million here, have a high probability of contracting HBV because they are regularly in contact with patients, prone to injury from needles or exposure to contaminated materials and waste.
No complete cure yet
Since there is still no complete cure yet for hepatitis B, vaccination is currently the most effective way to prevent one from being infected with the virus.
“HBV vaccination has become one of the most effective single medical interventions in the control of this infectious disease. HBV vaccines are to be taken thrice a year for prevention, and four times for those who are highly at risk,” he said.
Aside from heathcare workers, other groups of people who should also be vaccinated include those with high-risk sexual behavior; partners and household contacts of HBV positive persons; injecting drug users; persons who frequently require blood or blood products; recipients of solid organ transplantation; and international travelers.
It should be remembered that GSK recently began an adult vaccination campaign, which is aimed at increasing awareness on the importance of adult vaccination for diseases like HBV.
