No rational man boasts of anything if his health condition is at stake.
Suffice to say; a healthy life remains the most precious possession that ever
comes to a man regardless of his/her status or age.
In the world today, there are millions of illnesses or diseases in
existence coupled with the ones that seem to have no specific cause or cure.
Among these diseases, some are often referred to be stubborn regarding their
mode of cure while some are seen to be deadly. No doubt, hepatitis is one of
those stubborn or deadly illnesses in existence.
Hepatitis is a medical condition which is defined as an inflammation of
one of the most vital organs in the human body known as the liver. It is usually
characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ.
The inflammatory condition can be self-limiting or can heal on its own; but on
the contrary, it can progress to fibrosis or cirrhosis.
Hepatitis may occur with limited or no symptoms, but often leads to
jaundice, poor appetite, and a feeling of unease. It is referred to as acute
when it lasts less than six months, and chronic when it persists longer.
Globally, hepatitis viruses are the most common causes of the condition, but
hepatitis can as well be caused by other infections, autoimmune diseases, or
toxic substances such as alcohol, certain medications, and some industrial
organic solvents and plants.
Initial features of acute hepatitis are of non-specific flu-like
symptoms, which are invariably common to almost all acute viral infections, and
may include fatigue, muscle and joint aches, fever, nausea diarrhoea, vomiting,
and headache. More specific symptoms which could be present in acute hepatitis
from any cause are profound loss of appetite, aversion to smoking among
smokers, excretion of dark urine, and abdominal discomfort.
A small proportion of people with acute hepatitis usually progress to
acute liver failure, in which the liver would be unable to remove harmful
substances from the blood thereby leading to confusion and coma due to hepatic
encephalopathy. The acute liver failure may also result to the production of
blood proteins which often leads to peripheral edema and bleeding.
More so, a chronic hepatitis, which is commonly identified through blood
test, is usually characterized with no symptoms at all. It often leads to the
presence of jaundice which indicates advanced liver damage. On physical
examination, there may be enlargement of the liver. In the same vein, women
with autoimmune hepatitis mostly experience abnormal menstruation, lung
scarring, inflammation of the thyroid gland and kidneys.
Apart from the aforementioned two major classes of hepatitis, it is
invariably grouped and recognized by medical experts based on its common
causes. On this note, the different types of hepatitis in existence that are
widely recognized include, Viral hepatitis, Alcoholic hepatitis, Toxic and
drug-induced hepatitis, Ischemic hepatitis, Giant cell hepatitis, just to
mention but a few. The most common causes of viral hepatitis are the five
unrelated hepatotropic viruses known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E viruses.
Tuesday 28th July, the world over commemorated the 2015 World
Hepatitis Day. The event, which is observed annually on July 28, was
inaugurated by World Health Organization (WHO) under the auspices of the United
Nations (UN) to raise global awareness on hepatitis or a group of infectious
diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E, and to encourage the prevention,
diagnosis, as well as the treatment of the disease.
The first global World Hepatitis Day was marked on May 19, 2008 through
the effort of the World Hepatitis Alliance in collaboration with various
patient groups. The commemoration received an international endorsement
following the adoption of a resolution during the 63rd World Health
Assembly held in May 2010. The date of the event was later changed to July 28
of every year by the Assembly, in honour of the birthday of Nobel Laureate
Baruch Samuel Blumberg – the man who discovered the hepatitis B virus.
There is an estimate that hepatitis affects hundreds of millions of
people worldwide thereby causing acute or chronic disease and killing close to
1.4 million people every year. Currently, approximately five hundred (500)
million people worldwide are suffering from either hepatitis B or hepatitis C.
If left untreated or unmanaged, hepatitis B or C can lead to advanced liver
scarring known as cirrhosis and other complications including liver cancer or
liver failure.
While many people worry more about contracting diseases like HIV than hepatitis, the reality is that every year, at least 1.3 million people worldwide die as a result of either hepatitis B or C faster than they would in the case of HIV/AIDS. Needless to say that, hepatitis is indeed a deadly disease. Considering this fact, it is pathetic and devastating to note that many hepatitis carriers are yet to realize that they are living with the disease.
Hepatitis groups, patients as well as advocates worldwide, take part in
series of events on every July 28 to mark the World Hepatitis Day. The World
Hepatitis Day is one of the eight official global public health campaigns being
marked by the WHO.
As Nigeria joins the
international community to commemorate the event, there’s need for collective
support as regards creation of awareness on this silent killer known as
Hepatitis. The World Hepatitis Day provides an opportunity to focus on actions
such as:
v
Raising
awareness on the different forms of hepatitis, their common causes and how they
are transmitted.
v
Strengthening
prevention, screening, and control of viral hepatitis and other related
diseases.
v
Increasing
hepatitis B vaccine coverage cum integration into national immunization
programmes.
v
And
lastly, though not the least, coordinating a global response to hepatitis.
At this juncture, it is of no need saying that, all hands are expected
to be on deck towards ensuring that this killer disease that has been a colossal
societal menace for decades now is duly eradicated. Think about it!
COMR FRED DOC
NWAOZOR
(The Media Ambassador)_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056 Twitter: @fdnnwaozor
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