Direct policy interventions towards treatment of Hepatitis B – Pharmacist

[Guest guest]

http://news.myjoyonline.com/health/201108/70392.asp

Direct policy interventions towards treatment of Hepatitis B – Pharmacist

A Clinical Pharmacist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Corquaye has

called for the design of policy interventions to aid the treatment of Hepatitis

B in Ghana.

Ghana is said to have a Hepatitis B prevalence rate of between 8 and 15 percent,

thus placing the country in the bracket of Hepatitis B endemic countries as per

the World Health Organization’s [WHO] classification.

Countries that have a Hepatitis B prevalence rate of above 8 percent, according

to the WHO, are considered endemic.

Speaking on Multi TV’s current affairs show, PM EXPRESS, Mr. Corquaye noted that

even though Hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV/AIDS, there

are no policy initiatives in place to reduce the cost of treating the condition.

Persons who are diagnosed with the disease will have to spend GH¢400 to undergo

an investigation to determine their level of infection.

Hepatitis B is not curable but can be managed with oral medication and

injections. The cost of the oral treatment spans between GH¢300 and GH¢400 a

month and costs between GH¢300 to GH¢400 a week to take an injection for 48

weeks as a way of managing the condition.

According to Mr. Corquaye, the treatment of the disease in the country is very

expensive hence the need to institute certain measures to mitigate the cost to

patients.

He noted that countries like the United Kingdom and United States have put in

place “strategic policies that target those who are chronic to manage them

especially to make sure that the investigations they do which we said are very

expensive are taken care of by either health insurance or an insurance company.”

“So constantly there’s a particular strategy or policy that is put in place to

make sure that those who are supposed to be prevented from the disease are given

the necessary interventions and [for] those who have the disease, there are

interventions that have been made to make sure that they are managed properly.

So most of the time their prevalence is very low and if we are able to handle

that in that manner, we’ll have a situation where we will not go beyond 15% but

we’ll come down below 10 and then gradually below 2 percent.”

Hepatitis B, is an inflammation of the liver caused by the Hepatitis B virus and

is ranked by the WHO as the 9th killer disease in the world.

A Consultant at the Department of Medicine at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital,

Dr. Adwoa Adjei Nkansah who was also on the programme advised persons who have

already contracted the disease to refrain from alcohol since the intake will

further worsen the situation of the liver.

She mentioned mother-to-child transmission and the use of contaminated sharp

objects like blades and other shaving gadgets as means of transmission of the

disease. She said using non-sterilised acupuncture needles at tattoo palours

could also be a potential means of transmitting the Hepatitis B virus.

Dr. Adwoa Nkansah advised the public to test for Hepatitis B and ensure that

they go through the full dosage of vaccination within six months. She added that

“testing negative does not mean you can live a careless life”.

Story by Nii Akrofi Smart-Abbey/ Multi TV