Liver cancer cases on increase

Jul 19, 2012

Ten percent of Ugandans are said to be living with chronic hepatitis B infection, an infection that causes liver cancer.

By Florence Nakaayi      
                      
Ten percent of Ugandans are said to be living with chronic hepatitis B infection, an infection that causes liver cancer.

This was revealed by the WHO Country advisor Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) surveillance, Dr. Innocent Mwesigye during a health literacy dialogue at Gayaza Catholic playground.  

The dialogue under the theme, “Engaging Patient and Consumer Organizations to increase Health Literacy levels in Uganda”, was organized by a Community Health And Information Networking (CHAIN)-Uganda in partnership with patient organizations with support from Merck  & Co, Inc, a US based pharmaceutical company.

Mwesigye cited Northern Uganda with the highest cases with about 25% of the population infected compared to 7% in southwestern regions.

The hepatitis B virus reproduces in liver cells, but the virus itself is not the direct cause of damage to the liver.

Hepatitis B is transmitted through sexual intercourse, illicit drug use and exposure to infected blood. It could be primarily be prevented through immunization.

The country manager, CHAIN-Uganda, Regina Kamoga said that the dialogue was intended to reflect on the existing health challenges, inform the public about the available services and suggest solutions for improved delivery.

“Promoting health literacy is still a challenge in the country because many people do not appreciate the information given, they pretend to know more, leading to miss out on accurate information,” she said.

Other patient organizations, including The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), Epilepsy Support Association Uganda (ESAU), and Sickle Cell Association Uganda (SAU) participated.

Others included, Uganda Women’s Cancer Support Organization(UWOCASO), Action Group for Health, Human rights and HIV/AIDS (AGHA), Joyce Fertility Support Centre Uganda(JFSU), NACARE, Consent, Mental Health Uganda and Uganda Child Cancer Foundation.

A reasonable number of people flocked in for voluntary HIV/AIDS Counseling and Testing (HCT), cervical and breast cancer screening which were conducted at the scene.

Mwesigye said the ministry of health and other health partners has started vaccinating health providers against hepatitis B as a preventive measure to avoid contracting the virus due to blood contact with patients.

Meanwhile Dr. Kaggwa Mugagga, the World Health Organization (WHO) country advisor for non-communicable disease and HIV/AIDS urged parents to take their children for immunisation against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a virus which causes cervical cancer.

 

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});