13M Filipinos have Hepatitis B

An estimated 13 million Filipinos or 16 percent of the country’s population are carriers of the Hepatitis B virus, the Department of Health announced Monday. “The Philippines currently has one of the highest carrier rates in the world for the HB virus at 16 percent, which is a leap higher than our figures more than 20 years ago," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said. Hepa B carriers are at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and liver cancer if they are not vaccinated or given the proper treatment. Duque, meanwhile, said his department will finally receive a P151 million supplemental budget for the immunization of newborn babies against Hepatitis B. He said that prior to the release of the budget the Health department was only able to vaccinate 40 percent of the 2.3 million babies born in the country every year. “It used to be that we could only afford to include 40 percent of our infants in our yearly immunization coverage. The expensive cost of the vaccine is shouldered by most families," he said. Duque said the lack of funds aggravates the situation especially for poor families. Hepa B infection is considered to be the single most important cause of liver cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the country according to the Philippine Cancer Society. In 2005, 7,629 people were diagnosed of liver cancer in the Philippines. Hepa B can be transmitted through infected blood or secretions, sharing of needles among drug users and unprotected sex. About a third of Hepa B cases are due to vertical transmission from a mother to a newborn baby, a Health department study revealed. Starting this year, all infants will be given a free shot of Hepa B vaccine within the first 24 hours after birth in all government hospitals, Duque said. He said booster shots will be given for free on the 6th and 14th week. From 1999 to 2000, the Philippines failed to buy Hepa B vaccines, causing a surge in the number of Hepa B cases. In 2005, the Philippines renewed its commitment to the World Health Organization to bring down the number of Hepa B cases to less than two percent by 2012. - GMANews.TV