Vietnam is one of nine countries in the West Pacific region withalarming rates of hepatitis B virus (HBV) with 10-20 percent of thepopulation (10-16 million people) living with HBV, according to theWorld Health Organisation (WHO).
It is estimated that aVietnamese HBV patient spends about 60-200 million VND (3,000- 9,500USD) a year on medical treatment expenses to cure the disease, which canlast up to two years.
According to the Vietnam Association forthe Study of Liver Diseases, around 10,000 Vietnamese people die everyyear from cirrhosis complications and liver cancer. Efforts to eliminatethe virus annually costs the country about 660 trillion VND (31.4billion USD).
The General Department of Preventive Medicineunder the Ministry of Health (MOH) emphasised the disease can belife-threatening; serious and fatal liver infections have resulted fromHBV. It can cause chronic infections and puts people at high risk ofdeath from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Some 25 percent of HBV patients will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer if they do not receive timely diagnosis and treatment.
Notably,100 percent of liver cancer in children is caused by HBV. The virus ismainly spread from mother to child at birth (peri-natal transmission),exposure to infected blood (horizontal transmission) and unprotectedsexual intercourse.
The MOH has warned that there is no specifictreatment for acute HBV currently available and the HBV vaccine is themainstay of HBV prevention.
The HBV vaccine is considered a safeand highly effective method to prevent the disease; rare side effectsinclude pain or fever but no severe consequences have been recorded,according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
TheWHO recommends that all infants receive the HBV vaccine as soon aspossible postpartum, preferably within 24 hours for best results.
Statisticsfrom the WHO reveal that over 350 million people are diagnosed withchronic HBV and about one million die as a result each year. Althougheveryone is vulnerable to HBV, children less than six years of age aremost likely to develop chronic infections.-VNA
It is estimated that aVietnamese HBV patient spends about 60-200 million VND (3,000- 9,500USD) a year on medical treatment expenses to cure the disease, which canlast up to two years.
According to the Vietnam Association forthe Study of Liver Diseases, around 10,000 Vietnamese people die everyyear from cirrhosis complications and liver cancer. Efforts to eliminatethe virus annually costs the country about 660 trillion VND (31.4billion USD).
The General Department of Preventive Medicineunder the Ministry of Health (MOH) emphasised the disease can belife-threatening; serious and fatal liver infections have resulted fromHBV. It can cause chronic infections and puts people at high risk ofdeath from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Some 25 percent of HBV patients will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer if they do not receive timely diagnosis and treatment.
Notably,100 percent of liver cancer in children is caused by HBV. The virus ismainly spread from mother to child at birth (peri-natal transmission),exposure to infected blood (horizontal transmission) and unprotectedsexual intercourse.
The MOH has warned that there is no specifictreatment for acute HBV currently available and the HBV vaccine is themainstay of HBV prevention.
The HBV vaccine is considered a safeand highly effective method to prevent the disease; rare side effectsinclude pain or fever but no severe consequences have been recorded,according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
TheWHO recommends that all infants receive the HBV vaccine as soon aspossible postpartum, preferably within 24 hours for best results.
Statisticsfrom the WHO reveal that over 350 million people are diagnosed withchronic HBV and about one million die as a result each year. Althougheveryone is vulnerable to HBV, children less than six years of age aremost likely to develop chronic infections.-VNA
