Hepatitis B is more infectious than HIV

Nov 23, 2004

It is 100 times more infectious than HIV. Like HIV, it is incurable and spreads through blood contact and sexual intercourse. It is the hepatitis B virus(HBV).

By Florence Nakaayi
It is 100 times more infectious than HIV. Like HIV, it is incurable and spreads through blood contact and sexual intercourse. It is the hepatitis B virus(HBV).
More than two million Ugandans are infected with the hepatitis B virus compared to the 1.5m people infected with HIV, the director Uganda National Expanded Programme for immunization (UNEPI), Dr. Issa Makumbi says.
He adds that the virus attacks the liver causing chronic infection of the liver. The patient never gets rid of the virus and many years later the liver becomes fibrous or develops cancer.
The Hepatitis B virus contributes to 80% of liver cancer in Uganda. “A person infected with chronic liver disease or cancer is very unproductive and may become mentally unsound,” Makumbi says. Immunisation against Hepatitis B, reduces your chances of suffering from cancer, he adds.
The virus affects all ages and sexes but mostly men. However, children are most vulnerable because most infections are acquired in childhood and, carried on for the rest of their lives.
Adults between 30 -50 years of age infected with HBV develop symptoms which may include yellow eyes and skin, dark urine, loss of appetite, fever and abdominal pain.
The infected person may also develop a yellow skin, vomiting and extreme fatigue. The majority of infected children do not show symptoms.
The World Health Organisation says HBV is transmitted by contact with blood or body fluids of an infected person in the same way as HIV. However, HBV is more infectious than HIV.
“Worldwide, most infections occur from infected mother to child, from child to child contact in household settings, and from reuse of unsterilised needles and syringes,” WHO says.
The liver is a body organ that performs among other functions, regulation of blood sugar, makes substances for blood clotting, turns poisonous substance to harmless products in the body, stores iron and vitamin A. Hepatitis jeopardises these functions.
Hepatitis B is not curable but can be prevented using a vaccine. Makumbi says effective immunization reduces the incidence of cancer.
The Ministry of Health started administering the Hepatitis B vaccine on June 2002. “As infection is common in early life immunisation of infants was the logical way to address the problem,” he says.
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