Hepatitis A is highly prevalent in Pakistan which accounts for 50 to 60 percent of all cases associated with Hepatitis in children, while Pakistan also falls in the intermediate endemic zone of Hepatitis B as nine million people in the country are infected with Hepatitis-B.
This was stated by Professor Dr Iqbal Memon, President Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) while addressing a gathering at a press briefing on World Hepatitis Day on Sunday here at a local hotel.
Every year approximately one million people die world-wide from causes related to viral hepatitis, most commonly liver failure, cirrhosis and cancer. Millions of people are living with the virus and millions of others are subjected to the infection, Dr Iqbal said.
"Hepatitis A is common in developing countries like Pakistan where hygiene and sanitary conditions are poor. Sadly, people don't know that the hepatitis B virus is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV. The rate of Hepatitis infection in Pakistan is intermediate grade (2-8 percent), therefore Pakistan is among the nations with higher burden of disease," he added.
Dr Iqbal further said that young infants who become infected with the hepatitis B virus are most likely to develop chronic infections. "90 percent of infants infected during the first year of life develop chronic infections and 30 to 50 percent of children infected between one to four years of age develop chronic infections," he said, adding that 25 percent of adults who become chronically infected during childhood die from hepatitis B-related liver cancer or cirrhosis while 90 percent of healthy adults who are infected with the hepatitis B virus will recover and be completely rid of the virus within six months.
Dr Iqbal said that Hepatitis A spreads through contaminated food and water and this most often occurs in countries like Pakistan especially if personal hygiene or sanitary conditions are poor, while Hepatitis B is usually spread when blood or other body fluids from a person infected with the Hepatitis B virus enter the body of someone who is not infected.
While responding to question as who are at the risk of Hepatitis A and B, Iqbal said that all children at age one year and above are at risk. "Other people who are at the risk of this A type hepatitis include: people who live in countries where Hepatitis A is common; travellers to those countries; people who live with an infected person; people living in areas where children are not routinely vaccinated against this disease; people with chronic or long-term liver disease, including Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C; and people with clotting-factor disorders," he added.
And those, he added, who are at the risk of getting infected from Hepatitis B include all infants at birth; travellers to certain countries; people who live with someone with Hepatitis B; people with chronic liver disease, end stage renal disease, or HIV infection; and healthcare and public safety workers exposed to blood.
'The best way of prevention from Hepatitis A and B is vaccination against them. The Hepatitis A vaccine is given as two shots. A second injection results in long-term protection. Hepatitis B vaccine is given as a series of three shots over a period of 6 months. The entire series is needed for long-term protection," he informed.