- Hepatitis B poses serious health risks, including liver cancer, often linked to mother-to-child transmission, sexual transmission and exposure topersonal items
- Annual surveillance for Hepatitis B can aid early detection of liver cancer, which has a high mortality ratewith some people losing their lives within months
- Countries such as Egypt and South Africa have invested in national surveillance programmes to improve awareness and testing for Hepatitis B infections
Nairobi, Kenya: Every day that Omar wakes up in clean, dry bedding always feels like Christmas morning because that is a far cry from when he used to wake up in the filth of Mombasa streets after yet another reckless night.
Source: Getty Images
Once or twice he would be picked up at the beach after yet another night of substance abuse and reckless sexual escapades, and the jury is out there on whether he got contracted Hepatitis B through reckless sex or the shared needles in the streets of Mombasa.
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Hepatitis B is a contagious viral infection that causes both acute short-term and chronic long-term disease, and Dr Odhiambo of Nairobi Hospital told NGBREAKINGNEWS that it is transmitted through mother-to-child contact, sexual contact and blood-to-blood exposures and also sharing personal items like razors and toothbrushes and unsterilised procedures like getting tattoos.
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“When I started being ill, I went to clinics and was misdiagnosed with various illnesses but never got better. Frustrated, I tested for HIV and was negative, and that is when my sister Aziza, a medic who has since moved to the US suggested we test for Hepatitis B and we also learnt of cancer, and we organised as a family for urgent treatment,” he said.
“I knew we were racing against time, and thank God because we had the resources and could get him treatment,” she added.
How did Roy’s family get hepatitis B diagnosis?
The late Roy (real name hidden) on the other hand, knew all about Hepatitis B when he was diagnosed with the condition at 37 years old, and he was so stunned, and his family shared he did not want to tell people for fear of isolation.
He reportedly held the news close to his heart until the situation was irredeemable, and he alerted his family, but within a short time he was already dead; he did not even have the time to start on liver cancer treatment.
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“Liver cancer took a very short time, was very painful and very expensive to treat; some people we told also gave us the side eye, so we stopped telling people his real cause if death altogether. There is a lot of stigma attached to the condition,” said Roy’s family.
At this point Odhiambo said that for untreated HBV, you can have the virus just circulating in the blood and just be well and be okay, but there is also the other side of the coin.
“Hepatitis B is related to a lot of liver problems, but the most devastating is liver cancer; you can get it after getting liver cirrhosis first or just get it directly and end up needing a transplant,”he said.
How can hepatitis B be prevented?
According to Odhiambo, the most Gen Zs were vaccinated as babies in 2001, and even then the uptake was not universal; those Gen Zs who were born in 2002 are covered; it is the millennials and Gen X of age 27 to 40 that are at a higher risk of getting the disease.
“There is no harm in being revaccinated if you can’t remember,” he said.
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Liver cancer is a very devastating diagnosis, and for you to catch it early, you have to be in a surveillance programme, as the cancer has a high mortality rate.
“If you are known to be Hepatitis B positive, you could be in a surveillance programme where every year you undergo some two ultrasounds and blood tests; you will never catch it early if you are not in a surveillance programme,” said the cancer specialist.
That cancer has a very high mortality rate between three months and six months and the patient is already dead; chemotherapy doesn’t work for this type of cancer… we use immunotherapy and targeted therapy. Most of my patients average between three to six months; there are those who go to a year, but they are in the minority,” said the cancer specialist.
Does the common man know about hepatitis B vaccines?
NGBREAKINGNEWS spoke to a section of Kenyans about the Hepatitis B vaccine, and below are some of the answers:
Jenny Bella Donna Avanti:
“That hepatitis B vaccine…at what age is it normally administered or it’s any age? Or is it doctor recommended? Some of us go to see the Doc only when we get extra sick.”
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BeautifulNectarine2755:
“But realistically liver cancer is rare; cancer nayo haitambui vaccines.”
😊 delight:
“I took myself for it as an adult, on my own accord, after seeing people get hep B…I got 3 shots.”
Agatha Ogutuu:
“No idea at all.”
Becky Skybe:
“Yes, I got both A and B back when I was in class 5.”
Why should Kenyans act fast?
According to Odhiambo, people who know their status should get tested, as liver cancer is not very common but is found in many parts of Kenya.
“There are 900 to 1000 new cases per year, and it is currently ranked the 13th most prevalent cancer in Kenya. So far, the government is doing a lot with newborns and older Kenyans should know their status as well; this means they should hold massive nationwide campaigns for possible national surveillance programmes,” he said.
It has emerged that countries like South Africa and Egypt have national surveillance programmes which are almost mandatory so that countries can know patients who are positive are going for screening.
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“If we can catch it early, then we can go for a transplant or liver surgery and can save these patients. There is a strategic plan by the Kenyatta National Hospital to start liver transplants; we don’t have liver transplants in Kenya, but we have well-trained surgeons,” he said.
“Hepatitis B is a silent virus; it is a silent killer, and every adult should just know their Hepatitis B status; some of the patients said they wish they knew if they had it they would’ve done something to save themselves,’he added.
Source: NGBREAKINGNEWS
