HCM City sets targets for viral hepatitis prevention

The southern city targets to reduce the rate of hepatitis B virus infection in children under five years old to less than 0.5 percent, and prevent mother-to-child transmission of the hepatitis B virus by 2050.

Hồ Chí Minh City will strive to eliminate the transmission of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) that take place in health facilities and through blood transfusions, according to a plan on viral hepatitis prevention for the 2022-2025 period issued recently by the municipal People’s Committee.

It will also reduce the transmission of HBV and HCV among drug users, the transmission of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) through the gastrointestinal tract, and cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, and death relating to viral hepatitis B and C.

According to the World Health Organization, Việt Nam is among the countries that suffer the most from viral hepatitis B and C.

Around 40,000 people die of liver cancer each year in the country. Untreated hepatitis B and C viruses are the leading causes of cirrhosis and liver cancer, according to the Ministry of Health.

The rate of hepatitis B in HCM City is 15 percent of the city’s population. The prevalence of hepatitis C is about 1.5 percent.

Statistics from the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases showed that an average of 800 patients are examined for liver diseases daily, of which, hepatitis B accounts for 60 percent, and hepatitis C accounts for 14 percent.

Refer to:
Vietnam news

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