Experts say vaccination best way to fight hepatitis B
Experts say vaccination best way to fight hepatitis B
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Julie, 24, has never thought Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has infected
her liver since birth.
She realized, however, that something was wrong with her liver
back in 1998, when her skin turned yellowish.
"Earlier, I had often suffered from nausea and felt weak, but
I thought it was nothing," Julie recalled.
The doctor who examined her said she was already at an
advanced stage of Hepatitis B called cirrhosis. The physician
told her there were some lumps on her liver.
"The doctor told me that having cirrhosis at my age meant that
I must have had the virus since birth," she said.
She said she had never had a Hepatitis B vaccination.
Director of the hepatology division at the University of
Indonesia's School of Medicine Ali Sulaiman said that around 15
million Indonesians had Hepatitis B. The number was growing by
between 3 percent and 9 percent a year.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that is triggered by
various hepatitis viruses, ranging from A to H.
Unvaccinated babies and low awareness among the public of the
disease have been blamed for the high number of people with the
Hepatitis B virus, Ali said.
"A baby should receive a Hepatitis B vaccine at least 48 hours
after birth. Once a baby has contracted the virus, it's more
likely to suffer a chronic Hepatitis B later in life," said Ali.
Lack of information on the disease has caused people to
mistreat people with Hepatitis B, he added.
"A woman came to me saying she did not want her family or
friends to know she had Hepatitis B. A friend of her's who also
had the virus faced discriminatory treatment from colleagues at
work, for example, by refusing to share eating utensils with
her," said Ali.
He found most companies denied employment to people with HBV.
Julie is one of the victims of this type of discrimination.
She has had her applications for jobs turned down many times.
"Some companies told me they did not want to employ people
with Hepatitis B because they thought people like me were not
productive," she said on Saturday.
She is now working as a temporary therapist for Down's
syndrome children, replacing a friend.
A former national basketball team player, Darwin (not his real
name), said he was suspended from the team after he tested
positive for Hepatitis B.
Ali said not everyone with HBV would have lower productivity.
"There are people with the virus who are only carriers and the
virus does not affect their productivity," said Ali.
A carrier could infect other people, but the possibility of
this could be reduced through education. No symptoms developed in
the virus carriers so that their productivity would not be
affected, Ali said.
Separately, Indonesian Heart Research Association (PPHI)
spokesman Irsan Hasan said some 20 percent of HBV carriers could
suffer from acute or chronic hepatitis B.
The association has established a hotline service on 021 461-
5166.
Acute hepatitis takes some six months to become chronic.
However, about 90 percent of patients recover and develop strong
immunity during this period.
Without medication, however, their condition will deteriorate
within 10 or 20 years into cirrhosis and finally liver cancer.
However, the necessary medication is relatively expensive and
a generic version of the medicine is still unavailable.
A bottle of 30 tablets costs Rp 1.1 million (US$127.91).
Patients must take one tablet per day for at least a year to
control the virus.
Julie said she paid Rp 22,000 for each tablet she consumed for
one whole year. She also spent Rp 825,000 on a HBV DNA test to
find out the genetic material of the virus in her body.
With no access to employment, it is obviously difficult for
people with Hepatitis B to purchase the medication they need, let
alone lead normal lives.