“KNOW THE HEPATITIS, ACT NOW”

29.07.2016

The head at department of infectious diseases at O.O. Bohomolets National medical university, chief extraordinary infectiologist at MHC of Ukraine, professor Olga Golubovska took part in the press conference on topic “State support to patients with hepatitis in Ukraine: analysis and further steps”, which was held on 28, July, 2016 at MHC of Ukraine.

28, July is Hepatitis World Day. Ukraine supports the Global strategy for health care sector as to viral hepatitis for the period of 2016-2021, approved during 69th World Health Care Assembly. The purpose of the Strategy is to fight against pandemic of hepatitis and liquidation of this virus all over the world.

Professor Olga Golubovska mentions that viral hepatitis is a hidden threat (according to the data of WHO approximately 5% of patients know about their diagnosis), however it is treatable. Now, thanks to improvement of knowledge about hepatitis at people, for recent 2 years, the level for detection, registration and recording of such patients increased by more than 2 times.

As of at the beginning of 2016, 67,141 patients with viral hepatitis who require treatment is registered in Ukraine that corresponds to 7-9 percents of population in the country.

According to the words by Olga Golubovska the positive achievement in treatment of hepatitis is that due to the new approved standards for treatment already today the health care establishments receive the drugs that allow reducing the duration of treatment course from one year to three months. Such modes of treatment are the most efficient and safest. “More and more patients register, and this testifies to the trust to state provision with treatment”, – thinks professor. The chief extraordinary infectiologist paid attention to the fact that “today the patients with viral hepatitis B and C can receive the free of charge treatment according to advanced world practices, thus, it is not worthy of seeking for these drugs in the internet on your own”.

Reference: Hepatitis is the common name for acute and chronic inflammatory diseases of the liver. According to the data of WHO, today only each 20th infected with viral hepatitis knows about his/her diseases and only one from hundred receives the treatment. 400 millions people are infected with hepatitis B and C all over the world that by 10 times exceeds the number of those ones who live with HIV. According to statistics in 2013 hepatitis took the lives of 1.45 millions persons. In 1990 this number was less than 1 million.

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