Tag: hepatitis

Categories : Diseases, Syndromes and ConditionsTags :

“Silent Disease” Outed at African Hepatitis Convention

On By ModernMedia

Many South Africans with hepatitis go undiagnosed

By Liezl Human for GroundUp

The African Viral Hepatitis Convention, held in Cape Town, has put a spotlight on the need to eliminate from the African continent hepatitis B and C, the “silent disease”.

The World Health Organisation(WHO) says Africa “accounts for 63% of new hepatitis B infections, and yet only 18% of newborns in the region receive the hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination”.

In South Africa, 2.8-million people are infected with hepatitis B and 240 000 have chronic hepatitis C. Of those with hepatitis B, only about 23% have been diagnosed.

The convention, hosted by The Gastroenterology and Hepatology Association of sub-Saharan Africa (GHASSA) in conjunction with the International Hepato-Pancreato Biliary Association (IHPBA), took place over several days.

On the last day, a declaration was adopted, demanding the “immediate prioritisation of national elimination plans”, allocation of resources domestically, and the political commitment to eliminate hepatitis.

“As a community of people living with viral hepatitis, advocates for those living with viral hepatitis, healthcare workers, academics and those who simply care, we say no more … All the tools to eliminate viral hepatitis are available and are uncomplicated interventions,” the declaration read.

Hepatitis B

– Liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B virus

– Usually transmitted from mother to child, as well as between children under the age of five, and via injection drug use and sex in adults

Source: Wikipedia

Hepatitis C

– Liver infection caused by the Hepatitis C virus

– Usually transmitted by injection drug use, poorly sterilised medical equipment, needlestick injuries, and transfusions

Source: Wikipedia

The convention follows a WHO 2024 global hepatitis report that says globally deaths are on the rise and that 1.3 million people died of viral hepatitis in 2022, with hepatitis B causing 83% and hepatitis C causing 17% of deaths.

In Africa, 300,000 people died from hepatitis B and C. This is despite having the “knowledge and tools to prevent, diagnose and treat viral hepatitis”.

There are vaccines available for hepatitis B, and hepatitis C can be cured with medication. Hepatitis B is spread through blood and bodily fluids.

Hepatitis-related liver cancer rates and deaths are also on the rise, according to the WHO report.

At the convention Mark Sonderup, a hepatologist at Groote Schuur Hospital, said, “Inaction now results in a bigger problem later.”

Danjuma Adda, former president of the World Hepatitis Alliance, spoke about stigma as barriers to receiving care.

“Because of high stigma we have low testing because people are not motivated to be tested … We need to change the narrative,” he said.

Anban Pillay, the deputy director-general of the National Department of Health, said that at a national level, guidelines around hepatitis education and treatment can be created, but there “has to be advocacy at a local level” too. He also stressed the importance that voices of patients on the challenges they face be heard at a national and provincial level.

Pillay said that the conference had highlighted “gaps in our programme” and that it will identify and implement interventions that have worked in other countries.

At the end of the last session of the hepatitis convention, the declaration was read and signed by those in attendance.

Republished from GroundUp under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Source: GroundUp

Categories : PaediatricsTags :

US, Europe Report Severe Hepatitis of Unknown Aetiology in Children

On By ModernMedia
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Public health officials are puzzling over cases of severe hepatitis in children reported in Europe and the US. A number of the cases have tested positive for adenovirus and/or SARS-CoV-2, though what role these viruses play is not yet clear.

On 5 April 2022, UK authorities notified the World Health Organization was of 10 cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in previously healthy young children ranging in from 11 months to five years old across central Scotland. Nine had onset of symptoms in March 2022, and all cases were detected on hospitalisation. Symptoms included jaundice, diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain. An article published in Eurosurveillance detailed the cases.

Further investigations across the UK identified a total of 74 cases as of 8 April (including the 10 cases) that fulfilled the case definition. The clinical syndrome in identified cases is of acute hepatitis with markedly elevated liver enzymes, often with jaundice, sometimes preceded by gastrointestinal symptoms, in children principally up to 10 years old. Some cases have required transfer to specialist children’s liver units and six children have undergone liver transplantation. As of 11 April, no death has been reported among these cases and one epidemiologically linked case has been detected.

Laboratory testing has excluded hepatitis type A, B, C, and E viruses (and D where applicable) in these cases while SARS-CoV-2 and/or adenovirus have been detected in several cases. The United Kingdom has recently observed an increase in adenovirus activity, which is co-circulating with SARS-CoV-2, though the role of these viruses in the pathogenesis is not yet clear. They have however been linked to bladder inflammation and infection, and on occasion to hepatitis, but it is rare in children who are not immunocompromised.

To date, no other epidemiological risk factors have been identified, including recent international travel. Overall, the aetiology of the current hepatitis cases is still considered unknown and remains under active investigation. Laboratory testing for additional infections, chemicals and toxins is underway for the identified cases.

Following the notification from the UK, less than five cases (confirmed or possible) have been reported in Ireland, further investigations into these are ongoing. Additionally, three confirmed cases of acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology have been reported in children (ranging in age from 22 months-old to 13 years old) in Spain. A further 9 have been reported in the US state of Alabama, with five testing positive for adenovirus.

Karen Landers, district medical officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said that the cases were spread across the state, and no links were found among the children.

“It is not common to see children with severe hepatitis,” Landers told STAT in an interview. “Seeing children with severe [hepatitis] in the absence of severe underlying health problems is very rare. That’s what really stood out to us in the state of Alabama.”

Source: WHO