The high
cost of medicines has undermined treatment of hepatitis B and C in Vietnam,
where their rates of chronic infection is high, according to a conference in
Hanoi Monday.
A course
of treatment for the diseases costs up to VND45 million (US$2,016), according
to Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
By using
generic drugs, similar treatment costs only $200 in Egypt and $250 in India, he
said.
Vietnam
has been negotiating prices with drug suppliers, but even if it succeeds in
bringing them down, the treatment cost would remain as high as $700-$800 in
2017, he said.
Statistics
presented at the conference showed that hepatitis prevalence in Vietnam is among
the highest in the Western Pacific region.
Some 8.7
million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 1
million with hepatitis C virus (HCV) out of Vietnam’s population of 90 million.
HBV
caused more than 23,000 deaths and HCV, about 6,000 deaths in the country last
year.
Yet only
5 percent of those chronically infected were aware of their condition, and just
less than 1 percent of them actually underwent treatment, the statistics
showed.
Kinh said
studies by his hospital showed that prohibitively high medicine costs dissuade
patients from pursuing treatment even after health insurance covers part of the
cost.
About 43
percent of the chronically infected patients surveyed said they could afford
only VND3 million for treatment, he said. If the course cost VND10 million,
only 10 percent more said they could afford it.
The
country is also lagging behind in terms of prevention, experts said at the
event.
The World
Health Organization advises that routine hepatitis B vaccination should be
given to children, the first shot within 24 hours after birth.
In
Vietnam, however, just 50-60 percent of newborns get it within 24 hours,
according to Duong Thi Hong, deputy director of the National Institute Of
Hygiene And Epidemiology.
The rate
is particularly low - down to 11-12 percent - in some remote provinces, she
said.
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