Hepatitis-B, one of the five variants of the viral infection affecting the liver, is a dreaded killer, but ignorance about an available preventive vaccine that ensures lifelong protection against the virus is the biggest worrying factor, an expert said here on Saturday.
“Though it is a killer, the good news is that Hepatitis-B can be prevented. A vaccine, with outstanding record of safety and effectiveness, is available since 1982 a single shot of which can ensure lifelong protection against the infection,” Dr Manoj Kumar Sahu, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatobiliary Diseases at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, said.
Dr Sahu was speaking at a programme held to mark the World Hepatitis Day which was jointly organised by the SOA University and the Odisha State unit of Bharat Scouts and Guides. The day is observed on the birth day of Nobel laureate Prof Baruch Samuel Blumberg, who discovered the Hepatitis-B virus and also developed the vaccine, he said.
Minister for Tourism and Culture Ashok Panda, who attended the programme, underlined the need for creating public awareness against the dreaded Hepatitis-B virus.
Hepatitis-B kills more people in a day than the HIV does in a year, but the HIV has got into the public psyche as a much bigger threat, Dr Sahu said, adding that an estimated 300 million people have been infected by Hepatitis-B worldwide. “The biggest concern is that 95 per cent of the affected population don’t know that they were carrying a deadly virus,” he said.
The Hepatitis-B vaccine can prevent 3,00,000 cancer deaths every year and early diagnosis provided the best opportunity for effective medical support and prevention of further spread, he added.