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Vietnam
is among countries with alarming hepatitis B and hepatitis C infection rates in
the world.
The
Southeast Asian country is ranked the second country with high rate of
hepatitis B and the third with high rate of hepatitis C in the world. Worse,
the two kinds of hepatitis are easily transmitted and threaten human health
condition largely.
Rooms in
the National Tropical Disease hospital in Hanoi are overloaded with patients
suffering from hepatitis; some of them were hospitalized late when the disease
became complicated and is threatening their lives.
Hepatitis
B is the leading cause of liver cancer, with 25 percent of patients developing
cirrhosis and then liver cancer if they are untreated.
Most
people do not suffer any symptoms during the acute infection phase, but some
people have acute illness with symptoms that last several weeks, including
yellowing of the skin and eyes, dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting
and abdominal pain.
Worse,
the rate of people with hepatitis B and C in Vietnam is high. Study results
conducted by the Ministry shows that the rate of Vietnamese having hepatitis B
accounts for 6 percent of the whole population and the rate of hepatitis C from
0.2 percent to 4 percent.
Deputy
Head of the Department of Preventive Medicine Do Huu Tuan said that currently
the country has approximately 8.7 million people having hepatitis B and around
one million suffering hepatitis C.
More than
23,000 people died of hepatitis B and nearly 7,000 people died of hepatitis C
meanwhile the two hepatitis are easily transmitted among people in the
community. Director of the National Tropical Disease Hospital Dr. Nguyen Van
Kinh warned both hepatitis are mainly transmitted through blood, from mother to
children during birth, or via unprotected sexual intercourse, according to the
department. Compared to hepatitis B, hepatitis C transmitted silently and has
no sign yet it leaves more severe consequences.
Still
there has been no vaccine for hepatitis C and medication for the disease is
costly. Medical experts said that treatment for hepatitis C in a few months
cost VND200 million (US$ 177,940,000) – a big sum for poor people - because
patients must take these drugs which each costs up to VND4-5 million. Many poor
people can not afford the treatment so they discontinued; accordingly,
hepatitis leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Upon the
reality of high rate of hepatitis in the country, Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh warned to
preventive hepatitis people should be immunized especially newly-born babies
should be injected vaccine against hepatitis within 24 hours after birth and
further vaccine as per schedule. Those who are infected should go to medical
facilities periodically as per doctors’ advice.
The
Ministry of Health will have treatment guideline for treatment of hepatitis,
update new medicine and propose medical insurance company to cover the
treatment to reduce a part of patients’ burden.
Minh
Khang – translated by Uyen Phuong
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