Vietnam warns of increase in hepatitis patients

Compared to countries in the Western Pacific region, Vietnam currently ranks second in the number of people infected with hepatitis B virus, after China.

Speaking at a workshop on viral hepatitis prevention held in Hanoi on August 29, Dr. Lokky Wai, Chief Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) Office in Vietnam, expressed concern about the increasing number of patients in Vietnam. Nine million Vietnamese people are infected with hepatitis B and one million with hepatitis C, among the highest in the Western Pacific region, 40 times higher than the number of people infected with HIV in Vietnam.

To prevent hepatitis B, babies need to be vaccinated within the first 24 hours after birth.

Dr. Tran Dai Quang, representative of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, said that it is estimated that in our country, the rate of hepatitis B virus infection is about 6-20% of the population, 0.2-4% is infected with hepatitis C virus. Compared to countries in the Western Pacific region, Vietnam ranks second in the number of people infected with hepatitis B virus after China, and third in the rate of hepatitis C after China and Japan.

VViral hepatitis is a common infectious disease that causes liver complications such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, which can lead to death. Hepatitis B and C are mainly transmitted through blood, sexual contact, and from mother to child.In Vietnam's hepatitis prevention strategy, the first important tool ishepatitis B vaccine preventionHowever, according to statistics, the rate of children vaccinated within the first 24 hours after birth in 2015 in our country was only nearly 70%, much lower than the WHO recommendation of 85%. 22 provinces and cities had vaccination rates below 30%, with some provinces only reaching 11-12%.

The second important tool for preventing hepatitis isTreatment of hepatitis B and C. Worldwide, the cost of hepatitis C drugs is falling. For example, Egypt, a lower-middle-income country with one of the highest rates of viral hepatitis in the world, has treated 200,000 patients in the past 12 months, with prices dropping from $900 in 2014 to $200 in 2016.

However, in Vietnam, access to drug treatment is still difficult, and the high cost of treatment exceeds the patient's ability to pay. According to WHO, Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest cost of hepatitis treatment in the world. Currently, the cost of a course of hepatitis C treatment in our country is 2,200 USD, or about 45 million VND. In the near future, Vietnam will negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to use a new hepatitis C treatment drug that is cheaper and more effective.

The source of hepatitis B virus infection in our country is 80-90% from mother to child. If you are chronically infected, you will soon get liver cancer, cirrhosis at a very young age of over 40 or even under 30.To achieve the goal of reducing the rate of children under 5 years old infected with hepatitis B virus to below 1% by 2017, 90% of children must receive the newborn vaccination and over 95% of children must receive 3 doses of vaccine to prevent the disease.

According to VNE