DUBAI: Health ministry proposes national hepatitis plan

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Health ministry proposes national hepatitis plan

Hala Khalaf

Jul 22, 2011

DUBAI // The Ministry of Health announced yesterday that it would launch a

national strategy to combat hepatitis and push for better screening.

The announcement was made ahead of the first World Hepatitis Day on July 28. The

statement, however, appeared to contradict a decision made last August to relax

the visa medical testing rules. Hepatitis B is a deportable disease for which –

up until last year – every expatriate wanting to live and work in the country

would be tested for. Positive results would lead to deportation.

In August the ministry announced the tests would only apply to six categories of

workers – nannies; housemaids; nursery and kindergarten supervisors; workers in

hairdressing saloons, beauty centres and health clubs; anyone working in

processing or food-control authorities; and those employed in cafes and

restaurants.

Yesterday, Dr Mahmoud Fikri, the assistant undersecretary for health policies at

the ministry, said that although hepatitis was not a widespread problem, the

ministry would, nevertheless, take measures to make sure all ages were

vaccinated against the disease and all expatriates were tested before being

granted residency. He did not comment on whether it remained a deportable

disease.

He said that once the strategy was eventually implemented they would provide

free hepatitis testing in selected laboratories. The push was prompted by the

announcement of the first official World Hepatitis Day on July 28. Figures from

the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi show that there were 711 cases of viral hepatitis

b in 2010. Of these, 478 were expatriates.

“We aim to protect society from this disease through using a number of health

awareness lectures and encouraging all to follow healthy behaviours, especially

the youth generations,” he said.

The ministry will begin by organising awareness workshops about the dangers of

hepatitis, as well as its complications and ways to protect oneself from the

disease, Dr Fikri said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) chose July 28 as World Hepatitis Day because

it is the birthday of Dr Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus

in 1967 and, two years later, discovered a vaccine for the disease.

Hepatitis can cause inflammation of the liver and chronic viral hepatitis can

lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. The WHO estimated that 350 million people

worldwide were living with chronic hepatitis B and about 170 million people were

living with chronic hepatitis C; globally, one in 12 people had some form of

hepatitis.

Dr Fikri stressed that complications from hepatitis B and C resulted in the

death of 1.5 million people annually, according to WHO estimates.

Although no specific hepatitis data was available in the UAE, the WHO estimated

in 2002 that 2.5 per cent of the population were infected with hepatitis C.

Dr Adnan Hammour, a liver specialist at Abuhamour Medical Centre, said that at

least 30 per cent of patients with hepatitis C were not aware they had the

disease, and 90 per cent of people with the condition were not being treated for

it.

“Millions of people can reach their 40s and 50s, after having had the ‘silent

disease’ for 10 to 20 years with mild symptoms, if any, and then find that it is

so advanced that liver cancer or cirrhosis has set in,” Dr Hammour said.

Symptoms of hepatitis C include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, loss of appetite,

and fatigue.

Dr Fikri said the ministry wanted to address this problem.

“We will implement health preventive programmes such as early screening of the

disease, premarital tests, health fitness tests for job applicants, residency

tests for expat labourers and regular checkups for school and university

students,” he said.

The ministry also co-ordinates with the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi and the Dubai

Health Authority to make sure all children were vaccinated before starting

school. Parents must provide proof of vaccination before children are granted

admittance to school.

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