Millions are Missing!

It was a sunny afternoon in Offa town, these young medical laboratory professionals were on call that afternoon at the general hospital when one young man came in to donate blood for his little sister who was in the children’s ward in need of that blood urgently. As the safety of the patient should be the utmost concern of a medical laboratory scientist, some certain tests were to be carried out both on the patient and the potential donor. The potential donor was to be screened to ensure his blood was safe for transfusing, he kept telling these professionals that he was healthy and nothing was wrong with him and they explained to him that they couldn’t work based on his claims,they have to affirm that his blood was safe, he agreed and it was discovered he has HEPATITIS C and he didn’t know. He didn’t even have any idea about hepatitis. He was completely IGNORANT!!

This is how an average Nigerian thinks, not just Nigerians though,Africans generally,they even believe going to the hospital for routine medical check-up will do more harm to their health than good. How is it that millions are living with this disease and they don’t even know? It’s simply because of this mentality.

What is Hepatitis?
Hepatitis is simply the inflammation of the liver. It is gotten from two Greek words; ‘hepar’ meaning liver and -itis meaning inflammation. It can be either be acute or chronic,chronic hepatitis may develop into liver failure,cirrhosis of the liver and even liver failure.

What causes Hepatitis?
The most common cause of hepatitis are the hepatitis viruses and they include; Hepatitis A,B,C,D and E. Other causes includes; Excessive Alcohol usage,certain medications and autoimmune diseases.

How is Viral Hepatitis transmitted?
Viral Hepatitis A and E are of similar behaviour,they are self-limiting illnesses that do not lead chronic hepatitis and they are transmitted through the fecal-oral route,mainly contaminated food.

Viral Hepatitis B can occur either as acute or chronic i.e it occurs as acute hepatitis and if not properly taken care of,it progresses to chronic hepatitis. It can be transmitted from mother to child, sharing of needles and other sharp objects and even through sexual intercourse.

Viral Hepatitis C are also transmitted via the same way as viral hepatitis B but most cases of viral hepatitis C develop into chronic infection unlike in hepatitis B where if not properly managed,it develops from acute to chronic infection.

Viral Hepatitis D only infects people who have been infected with hepatitis B. This virus needs hepatitis B to replicate and is only found in hepatitis B co-infection.
This shows that hepatitis B,C and D can be transmitted when blood or mucuous membrane are exposed to infected blood or body fluids like semen. Hepatitis viruses can also be transmitted when fluids with these viruses are introduced to open sores or cuts.

Prevention
Hepatitis A,B and D can be prevented with immunization.
Hepatitis C can be treated with medications except those that limit life expectancy.
Many people have been infected with these viruses and have even died due to ignorance, millions of people are living with this virus and they have no idea,routine check ups will detect these things that needs immediate attention in order for it not to escalate,let us do the right thing,live healthy and stay safe to ensure that #hepatitsfreefuture is a reality.

Written by Jimoh Sherifat Oyiza

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