Over 400 Test Positive For Hepatitis B Virus In Effutu

Four hundred and five (405) people have tested positive for Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) in the Effutu Municipal district of the Central Region.

The figure includes 68 pregnant women, 148 children and 189 young people, this is according to the Member of Parliament for the Effutu constituency, Alexander Afenyo Markin.

He said the 405 were detected after a screening of a total of 2,106 people in the municipality.

Alarmed by the figures, the legislator urged his constituents to avail themselves for a testing and vaccination drive he has instituted.

“As a Member of Parliament, I can’t sit and watch this destroy my constituency. I have committed an amount of one million cedis to help screening and vaccination of people within the constituency. I encourage all to take part in the exercise,” CNR quotes him as saying.

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease.

The virus, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), is transmitted mostly from mother to child during birth and delivery, in early childhood, as well as through needlestick injury, tattooing, piercing and exposure to infected blood and body fluids, such as saliva and menstrual, vaginal and seminal fluids.

Transmission of the virus may also occur through the reuse of contaminated needles and syringes or sharp objects either in health care settings, in the community or among persons who inject drugs. Sexual transmission is more prevalent in unvaccinated persons with multiple sexual partners.

In 2019, records show it resulted in the death of 820,000 people.

The WHO estimates that there are 1.5 million new infections each year and says Hepatitis B can be prevented by vaccination.