Study shows 80,000 die from hepatitis annualy

Study shows 80,000 die from hepatitis annualy

JAKARTA (JP): An estimated 40,000 to 80,000 Indonesians die
each year due to Hepatitis, a recent study claimed.

It is believed that there are some 12 million people infected
with the virus, of which seven million suffer from Hepatitis B
and five million Hepatitis C.

The study, conducted by Suwandhi Widjaja, was revealed here
during the commencement of his professorship at Atmajaya Catholic
University's school of medicine.

Suwandhi expressed particular concern since "the infectious
disease mostly hit people during their productive years between
30 to 55 years of age."

His study was conducted at Kali Anyar district in West
Jakarta, which was chosen because, he said, all categories of
ages and social-economic status needed for the sampling were
represented.

Chronic Hepatitis B can lead to other serious diseases such as
liver cancer and cirrhosis.

The study also found that there was a higher prevalence of
youths between 16 and 20-years-old contracting the disease
compared to younger children.

"The Hepatitis B and the C virus can be transmitted through
sexual intercourse since most of them start to have sex around
that age," said Suwandhi who earned his doctorate degree from
Fakulteit Geneeskunde Katolieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium
for his study on the Epidemiology of Hepatitis B and C Virus
Infection in Urban Areas in Jakarta.

There are a number of ways the virus can spread, among them
through prenatal infections, the sharing of needles and dialysis.

Suwandhi further noted that children under five-years-old are
also prone to being infected by adults.

"The virus can also be spread through horizontal transmission
like family contacts through using the same cutlery or sharing
toothbrushes and nail clippers or shavers," he said.

One case which Suwandhi discovered in his study was several
children living in an orphanage becoming infected as the
attendants had the habit of "feeding the children with one
spoon".

"The infected fluid can move from one mouth to the other," he
said.

Suwandhi stressed that to prevent a further escalation
hepatitis vaccinations must be done from infancy.

"It can be given at the same time a baby receives their basic
vaccination program. Therefore it will be easier and more
economical," he said.

On a global scale, there are no less than two billion people
exposed to Hepatitis B and 170 million others with Hepatitis C
worldwide, he added.

Ali Sulaiman, dean of the University of Indonesia's school of
medicine, stressed that those infected with Hepatitis B should
not despair as there is medication which can treat it.

Ali also called on doctors not to be too hasty in their
prognosis of patients with Hepatitis B since in the case of
adults only about 5 percent of those infected with the virus will
develop chronic illness.

"Only the chronic patients need treatment ... Doctors must
give proper guidance to Hepatitis B carriers, especially those
who are at a young and productive age. Do not scare people and
end their hope to live," he said. (edt)