8.7M Vietnamese People Infected with Hepatitis B: Ministry

About 8.7 million Vietnamese people have been infected with hepatitis B while the number for hepatitis C are 1 million, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH)’s Department for Preventive Medicine, state media reported. Hepatitis B and C killed 23,000 and 6,000 people respectively in 2015, said the department at a conference in Hanoi on August 29. In Vietnam, hepatitis B is transmitted mainly from mother to children while hepatitis C is spread via blood. These two types of hepatitis are main reasons for cirrhosis of liver, liver cancer, and deaths relating to viral hepatitis. According to the WHO, hepatitis B and C can be prevented by vaccination, including a dose within 24 hours after birth. In Vietnam, the hepatitis B vaccination rate reached 95%. Vietnam is one of 36 countries in the world issuing a national plan to fight hepatitis. The plan puts forward specific measures like increasing information-education-public communication work to raise public awareness, using good models to increase coverage of vaccination against hepatitis B for newborns within 24 hours after birth, and screening for early detection of hepatitis B and C cases among high-risk groups. (Giao Thong – Transport Aug 30 p10, bnews.vn Aug 29)