DOH conducting Hepa-B survey

The Department of Health (DOH) is conducting a survey to determine the number of Filipino children with Hepatitis B.

The DOH said that it is conducting the ‘National Hepatitis B Sero-prevalence Survey’ in 25 provinces in the Philippines that started this month.

This is in coordination with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.

“We want to be more effective in preventing Hepatitis B, and this survey will yield very important information on how DOH can improve its health services” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

The DOH said that based on the data of the WHO, around 8.5 million Filipinos are “chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus. However, the number of children affected by Hepatitis B, an infectious liver disease, is unknown.”

The DOH said that this dis- ease can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and premature death.

It can be transmitted from mother-to-child through direct contact or after birth, as well as through exposure to infected blood and other body fluids.

The survey teams will go to randomly- selected households and will request for the parent’s consent to participate in the survey.

“A small amount of blood will be drawn and tested for hepatitis B from the eligible child,” the DOH said.

The health department said that around 3,000 children, aged five and six years old will be chosen to participate in the survey.

The survey process will take up to 30 minutes and the child’s parent or caregiver will be present during the entire process, said the DOH.

“We appeal to parents or caregivers to allow their child, if he/ she is selected, to be tested. Our survey teams have been trained to observe confidentiality obtaining information,” assured Duque.