Experts worry over rising hepatitis cases in Yobe

Health experts in Yobe have advised government to employ more aggressive measure to curtail rising cases of hepatitis spread in the state.

The experts, who spoke at the World Hepatitis commemoration Day held in Damaturu, expressed worries over the rate at which people are found reactive to the disease.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Hamidu Alhaji, said hepatitis in the state have become a public health crisis, especially with its alarming spread within the age range of 15 to 45.

He said: “Two communities in Nguru and Fika LGAs were screened, and there was alarming rate of hepatitis spread there. It was found that out of 10 persons tested for the Hepatitis, six to eight turned to be positive”.

He said the state government has been doing its best, through campaigns, vaccinations and treatment to eliminate the viral hepatitis spread across the state, with special attention to IDPs and returnee communities.

Presenting a paper at the event, the focal person for Viral Elimination Project, Ali Abdullahi Danchuwa, said statistics from the state viral hepatitis data bank generated had scary revelation, hence the need for more aggressive campaign.

He revealed that the data generated monthly showed that out of 9000 people screened, 1,200 were found reactive to the hepatitis viral.

“We wanted to scale up the activities in the three geopolitical zones, where we intend to screen 50,000 people, and those that are found nonreactive would be vaccinated”, he said.