Jakartans still unaware of Hepatitis B spread

JAKARTA (JP): Not many people here seem to be aware of the Hepatitis B virus, which statistics reveal still infects one in 20 Jakartans, the same proportion of the population infected ten years ago.

Internist Rino Alvani Gani from the Association of Indonesian Liver Researchers (PPHI) said on Thursday that the figure was alarmingly high when compared to the number of people suffering diabetes mellitus in Jakarta, which was only 2 percent of the population.

Latest data shows that there are now more than 10 million people living in the capital.

Rino was quoting figures from an annual survey conducted by PPHI, revealing that the number of Jakartans infected with the Hepatitis B virus had not changed in a decade.

He said the country was still vulnerable to the virus with prevalence of the virus within specific communities ranging between 4 percent and 34 percent.

Some 11 million of the 350 million people suffering from Hepatitis B around the world are Indonesians, he added.

Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver triggered by various hepatitis viruses, ranging from A to H. The virus persists in the blood, sperm, saliva and other bodily fluids. It can be transmitted to other people by sharing personal items containing traces of bodily fluids, through sexual intercourse, blood transfusions or even from the permanent needle used for tattooing.

Population density, low economic status and unhygienic lifestyles are the main factors contributing to the epidemic levels of the virus.

Rino claimed that there was no evidence suggesting that the virus could be spread through the use of towels, bed sheets, cutlery or dishes used by people infected with Hepatitis B.

"The Hepatitis B virus is responsible for more than 80 percent of liver cancer and cirrhosis, and can slowly kill those who are infected with it within up to 20 years, surviving virtually unnoticed, as it does not show any immediate nor significant symptoms," he said.

Rino said that only 20 percent of the sufferers exhibit the virus's flu-like symptoms, such as weakness, loss of appetite, nausea and a yellowish tinge in the eyes and skin.

"It's better if people have a test to see whether they have contracted the virus or even to see if the virus has started to replicate. It is curable because vaccines to fight the virus have been found, and it is not as fatal as Hepatitis C.

"However, most sufferers only find out that they have the virus after their livers have been damaged. By that time there is not much we can do," Rino said during a free Hepatitis B screening test in the food court of Pasar Festival Kuningan, South Jakarta. (bby)