Thanks to intensive campaigning and prevention tactics, the infection rate of HIV has dropped, but experts are worried about another looming viral epidemic—hepatitis.
Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV and is on the WHO’s line of action now. One in 12 Indians is infected with hepatitis B, called the silent killer.
“Viral Hepatitis B is a silent killer as a majority of the infected people are not aware that they carry the disease. The virus stays quiet in the liver for years; people can be asymptomatic carriers of Hep B for 20 to 30 years. However, the virus is constantly multiplying in the liver and causes cirrhosis, where the liver becomes shrunken and nodular.
Cirrhosis can cause death by itself, or lead to cancer,” explains Dr Dinesh Jyothimani, senior consultant liver transplant surgeon of Global Hospitals here.
Of every 100 people infected with hepatitis B, 60 will get rid of the infection automatically, with no intervention.
Another 30 people carry the virus and unwittingly infect other people. Ten per cent of the patients however develop cirrhosis that could lead to liver failure, and 2 to 3 per cent develop liver cancer.
While Tamil Nadu is the pioneering state in vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B, Dr Dinesh calls for a mass screening of adults, through the simple blood test.
“As threatening as this disease is, it is completely vaccine preventable. People should be screened, especially young people who are getting married. If they are found negative for the virus, they can be immunized with the three-dose vaccination,” he adds.
“If a person tests positive, and the hepatitis infection is picked up early, it is easily treatable. Family members of the patient should be immediately tested and vaccinated,” says Dr. K Narayanasamy, Department of Hepatology, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
“Observing precautions like disinfecting and covering all cuts and wounds will go a long way in preventing the spread of Hep B. Infants born to infected mothers have to be vaccinated within 12 hours of birth,” says Dr Narayanasamy.