OPS calls for increased access to treatment for hepatitis

By means of a note circulated in the US capital, where the body is based, it has been reported that hepatitis B and C affect 325 million people worldwide, resulting in 1.34 million of death each year.

In the case of the Americas region, 3.9 million people live with chronic hepatitis B and 7.2 million with chronic hepatitis C, while they record more than 125,000 deaths annual.

At the same time, the fourth type of cancer causing more deaths among men and the seventh among women in the Western Hemisphere is the liver, a disease with clear links to these types of hepatitis. [19659003] According to OPS, given this situation, the region must redouble its efforts to ensure its prevention, detection and treatment.

While some countries have made great strides in addressing public health risks posed by hepatitis, Marcos Espinal, director of the Department of Communicable Diseases and Environmental Determinants of Entity Health , said, "We know that treatment for hepatitis C can reduce the risk of developing liver cancer by 75 percent. 14% of people with the disease in Latin America and the Caribbean have been diagnosed and less than 1% are getting the treatment they need, he said.

The text on the occasion of the World Hepatitis Day 2018 theme It's time to diagnose, treat and cure, recalled that in 2015 and 2016, the ministers of health of Americas agreed on actions to reduce burden Since then, efforts to ensure vaccination against hepatitis B have continued and all Latin American and Caribbean countries are vaccinating Children under the age of one, 22 However, the text laments the fact that there is still much to be done regarding the treatment of people with chronic hepatitis C.

New advances show that more than 95% of infected people can be treated, but in the region, the vast majority of those living with them do not have access to highly effective drugs, such as antiviral drugs. direct action, which can heal them in three months or less. 19659003] The disease, which consists of inflammation of the liver, is caused by one of five hepatitis viruses called types A, B, C, D and E, and can cause acute and leading infections. chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, cancer or even death.

Ode / Sea