PE study to help global bid to control rising threat of deaths from hepatitis
PORT Elizabeth is taking part in a national study on viral hepatitis which has overtaken HIV/Aids as one of the leading global causes of death from infectious diseases. The others are TB and malaria. Livingstone Hospital statistics show doctors there have treated 10 cases of viral hepatitis since January, with three treated last month.
TB/HIV Care Association project manager Dr Andrew Scheibe said the study, which began last week, would assess information gaps on populations disproportionately affected by viral hepatitis and provide a guide to future interventions.
Sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs have been identified as key populations for the study.
Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are infectious diseases that affect the liver.
They are usually without symptoms for many years, meaning those infected can develop liver damage without realising it.
The study is funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Secure the Future programme and implemented by the TB/HIV Care Association, in partnership with Cape Town University, Anova Health Institute, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and OUT Wellbeing.
Scheibe said participants in the study would be tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C at clinics and hospitals.
He said the study would be used to ascertain if it was viable to introduce a rapid hepatitis C test in South Africa.
“If this proves to be the case, it opens up new possibilities for making hepatitis testing a common part of health screening processes,” he said.
Livingstone Hospital chief executive Thulane Madonsela said of five cases of hepatitis identified last month, three had been confirmed as hepatitis B.
SA Medical Association chairman Dr Mzukisi Grootboom said globally viral hepatitis had now overtaken HIV and Aids, in addition to TB and malaria, as the leading cause of death through infectious diseases.
Despite this, viral hepatitis was currently not covered under the minimum prescribed benefits of medical aid schemes, although it was hoped this could change.