Rwanda: Hepatitis Awareness During World Hepatitis Day
Blood Analisys to know if the patient have hepatitis, July 2024 Photo:@NYTimes
July 29, 2024 Hour: 7:21 pm
In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, over 500,000 people were screened for hepatitis C, of whom, about 2,000 tested positive and were initiated on treatment, the statistics showed.
On Sunday, the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) pledged to control hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections in the East African country by intensified efforts to improve awareness about the disease and education in this regard.
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In a message to mark World Hepatitis Day, Janvier Serumondo, the director of the sexually transmitted infections and other blood-borne infections unit at RBC, called on Rwandan residents to seek voluntary screening for the disease at the nearest health facilities to know their status.
Serumondo said tests and treatment have been decentralized to health centers in Rwanda, where infected Rwandans and refugees in the country receive free medical care.
Healthcare workers have been trained, and screening and treatment campaigns stepped up, he said.
RBC’s most recent statistics released Sunday show that more than 5 million people have been tested for hepatitis B virus (HBV) over the past decade, 8,000 people are on lifelong HBV treatment while more than 7 million, including children and adults, have been vaccinated against HBV.
And in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, over 500,000 people were screened for hepatitis C, of whom, about 2,000 tested positive and were initiated on treatment, the statistics showed.
“There has been significant progress in managing hepatitis C with estimated prevalence of chronic hepatitis C decreasing from 4 percent in 2017 to 0.48 percent in 2023,” Serumondo said, reaffirming Rwanda’s commitment to eliminating viral hepatitis C by 2030.
Hepatitis virus is mostly transmitted through blood-to-blood contact. Medics say early diagnosis is important to cure.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: Aljazeera-DW