World Hepatitis Day falls on 16 July and according to www.worldhepatitisday.com one out of 12 people are living with either chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that could be caused by a number of viruses or toxins. The Web and Media Technologies Division (WMTD) of the Medical Research Council interviewed Professor Michael Kew, an expert in field of hepatitis to find out how hepatitis affects South Africans.

Hepatitis virus
According to Professor Kew there are six hepatitis viruses of which hepatitis A, B and C are found commonly amongst the South African population. Hepatitis A is spread by the faecal-oral route. This means the virus is spread when an uninfected (or unvaccinated) person eats or drinks something contaminated by the stool of a hepatitis A virus (HAV) infected person. This disease is closely associated with inadequate sanitation and poor personal hygiene.¹ “There is a very high occurrence of hepatitis A particularly in the rural areas and in fact by the age of 5 years, 80% of the black population in South Africa had already been infected by the hepatitis A virus.” Kew said the Indian population and white population have a very low incidence of hepatitis A, B and C.

However, Kew added that the acute HAV infection amongst young children is very mild and is often missed, “They are left with an immunity which lasts them for the rest of their lives. In a sense it’s a type of vaccination of the whole population against the virus.”

Several hepatitis vaccines are available internationally, but adequate supplies of safe-drinking water and proper disposal of sewage within communities, combined with personal hygiene practices, such as regular hand-washing can also reduce the spread of HAV.²

Hepatitis B and C are transferred by infected blood and sexual contact. “The common way that it is transmitted in South Africa is from an infected mother to a child during birth. If you get infected with hepatitis B that early in life, you become a chronic carrier of the virus and the virus persists in the liver which could lead to liver cirrhosis or liver cancer,” Kew said.

“Fortunately, a vaccine has become available to prevent hepatitis B infections. If you then vaccinate young babies, you can then prevent the very high incidence of hepatitis among the black population,” Kew Said.

Toxic Hepatitis
According to Kew excessive amounts of alcohol, certain mushrooms and some drugs that are used in clinical medicine could cause inflammation of the liver. There is no specific treatment for drug-induced hepatitis other than stopping the drug that is causing the problem. Usually, drug-related hepatitis goes away within days or weeks after the offending drug is stopped.³

References

1. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs328/en/print.html Accessed on 14 July 2008
2. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs328/en/print.html Accessed on 14 July 2008
3. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000226.htm

Author: Janus Snyders
Approved by: Prof Michael Kew
Date: July 2008