Seminar helps fight infectious disease

[Guest guest]

Seminar helps fight infectious disease

Free safety kits will hopefully help the homeless prevent spreading

hepatitis

By Alyssa S. Navares

anavares@...

Silver carries a tiny bottle of Clorox bleach and water with her to

keep clean and ward off diseases every night at the Kakaako homeless

shelter.

" I make sure I'm clean here, " said , a former nurse's aide for eight

years, " especially when I heard someone here had hepatitis. "

Homeless at the Kakaako shelter learned ways yesterday to keep infectious

diseases from spreading.

A health seminar and free screenings for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Hansen's

disease and staph infection helped the homeless understand the importance of

good hygiene.

They also received safety kits with razors, nail clippers, toothbrushes,

nail files, Band-Aids and alcohol wipes. Sharing razors, washcloths or other

items that may have blood on them contribute to the transfer of hepatitis,

said Dr. Wilfred Alik of the Kaiser Permanente Kahuku Clinic.

The majority of those staying at the state-run shelter come from Micronesia,

where the rate of hepatitis B infection is 12 percent to 15 percent, Alik

said.

" That number is really an underestimation since not a lot of them have

access to medical facilities, so they're not documented, " Alik said. " There

are more out there. "

Micronesians, Marshallese and Palauans enter the United States under the

Compact of Free Association agreement, which does not require them to go

through health screenings, said Barbara Tom of the Department of Health.

" I'm going to always keep the safety kit under my baby's stroller, " said

17-year-old Natisha Taualai, standing in line to get pre-hepatitis

vaccinations for herself and her 3-month-old daughter.

About 90 percent of the infants in Micronesia develop chronic infections

after years of having hepatitis B and not knowing it, Alik said. He also

noted that the disease usually transfers from mother to child.

" I think another major problem there is that the midwives, or whoever helps

with the birth, doesn't give proper prenatal care, " he said. " The baby

misses out and suffers. "

Taualai and her daughter received a free T-shirt and a bag of toys

after going to two screenings. A reward system motivated those at the

shelter to get tested at yesterday's clinic.

Cultural groups, including a Chuuk church choir, entertained the packed

warehouse as well.

" We wanted them to know we are interested in who they are, " said Nova Lei

, special-projects director for the " Help Save a Life - Safety Kits

for the Homeless/Houseless Campaign. "

, who also sang at the clinic, showed off a certificate in which

Gov. Lingle proclaimed yesterday " Save A Life -- Safety Kit Day " for

the state.

" This is just the beginning of our journey, " said executive director Ken

Akinaka of the Hepatitis Prevention, Education, Treatment and Support

Network of Hawaii, which raised money to be used for the yearlong project.

" We want to send these kits to other islands. "

http://starbulletin.com/2006/07/29/news/story08.html

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