Viral hepatitis B and C infections can be transmitted through sex and sharing sharp instruments such as needles with an infected person, a physician specialist at the Upper East Regional Hospital has revealed.
Hepatitis B in particular, Dr. Emmanuel Akatibo indicated, is mainly spread from mother to child during pregnancy and childbirth and through exposure to contaminated sharp instruments at childhood.
“When it comes to viral hepatitis B, the main route of transmission is usually mother to child or during childhood. When the mother has it and during the pregnancy and the delivery process, there’s a chance that you can transmit it to the child. Then during the childhood period, adults leave sharp instruments that they have used and then the child picks it and cut themselves,” he stated.
“It’s only few people who will get it when they are grown up and most of the adult stage, the transmission is sexual intercourse for viral hepatitis B. But that of the C majority of the people in our country get it through sexual intercourse and then the use of contaminated sharp instrument”.
Dr. Akatibo said while there is vaccine for hepatitis B, there’s none for hepatitis C.
However, hepatitis C can be cured though the cost of treatment is expensive whereas there is no cure for hepatitis B.
Dr. Akatibo was speaking ahead of a free screening exercise the Upper East Regional Hospital is organising to mark this year’s World Hepatitis Day.
The day, which falls on July 28 each year, is set aside to create awareness about viral hepatitis B and C.
Although there are several types of hepatitis, Dr. Akatibo explained that only hepatitis B and C are deadly thus, the focus on them.
The diseases, he said, are prevalent in Ghana and therefore, the need to scale up efforts to contain their spread.
He revealed that most Ghanaians who are living with particularly Hepatitis B contracted it at their tender age. This, he explained, is because children more susceptible to the virus as their immune systems at that stage of their lives are not strong enough to fight it off.
“Why it is so prevalent is that during the childhood period, you don’t have the immune system to be able to fight and get the virus out of the system. So they try to manage and contain the virus and live with it. That’s why we have majority of Ghanaians having the viral hepatitis B”.
