WHO to Help Reduce Hepatitis B Infection Rate among Vietnam Children

The World Health Organization (WHO) has pledged to support nine countries in the Western Pacific Region, including Vietnam, to mitigate the infection rate of hepatitis B among children. The nine countries are Cambodia, Kiribati, Laos, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Vietnam, which are facing great challenges to fulfill the target to cut the infection rates among kids to 2% by 2012. At the World Health Assembly in 2010, countries unanimously adopted a resolution calling for concerted action to address the viral hepatitis issue.  The Western Pacific Region has almost half the global cases of hepatitis B, while having only a third of the world's population. Regional countries have pledged to reduce hepatitis B infection rates in children to less than 2% by 2012 and 1% as a future goal, Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, said. While most countries in the region have mitigated hepatitis B infection rates in children to below 2%, the nine countries have not yet reached the goal, mainly due to low vaccination coverage, he added. In Vietnam, hepatitis B infection rate is currently stand at 10% to 20% of its total population and is the cause of more than 80% of liver disease and cancers in the country. Co-infection rates amongst people living with HIV are also around 10%. The disease treatment can be very expensive and access is limited in developing countries. While, hepatitis C is also a contagious viral infection of the liver, but for which no vaccine has yet been developed.  Hepatitis C in Vietnam is also a growing concern. People who inject drugs have especially high prevalence of hepatitis C infection, with up to 98.5% of them infected with the virus in the country. To reduce the risk of hepatitis C infection, it is required to avoid unsafe injections and unscreened blood products. Improved infection control in health care settings and blood transfusion practice, and harm reduction programs for HIV prevention such as needle, syringe and condom distribution, are also critical to preventing transmission of hepatitis B and C. Vietnam has the second highest rate of liver cancers in the world with 90% of the cases developing from hepatitis B. (Sai Gon Giai Phong – Saigon Liberation July 28, voanews.com July 28, vietnamplus.vn July 28)