12 million Vietnamese infected with Hepatitis B
HANOI - About 12 million Vietnamese, or 15 per
cent of the population, are infected with Hepatitis B, a
government official said on Wednesday.
The figure is based on several surveys conducted by
various health organisations nationwide since 1995, said
Prof. Pham Hoang Phiet, president of Ho Chi Minh City's
Liver and Gall Association.
Hepatitis B is a serious, sometimes fatal, disease caused by
a virus that attacks the liver. It can cause lifelong infection,
cirrhosis -- scarring -- of the liver, and cancer.
Vietnam's rate of infection is roughly double the average
rate of 8 per cent in other Southeast Asian countries, Phiet
said.
Other studies in the region show that between 20 per cent
and 40 per cent of those infected are expected to develop
cirrhosis of the liver and between 1 per cent and 4 per cent
of those already in the cirrhosis stage may develop liver
cancer, he said.
Hepatitis B, which kills about 2 million people a year
worldwide, is transmitted through blood transfusions, sexual
intercourse and from mother to unborn child.
Last year, Vietnam launched a hepatitis vaccination
program for newborns. About 1.7 million babies were each
given three injections free of charge, Phiet said. It may take
10 years to reduce the number of hepatitis B patients, he
said.
Associated Press - May 25, 2000.
|
|