rwanda: health ministry issues hepatitis warning

CDC HIV/AIDS/Viral Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update RWANDA: Health Ministry Issues Hepatitis Warning Stella Ashimwe
October 15, 2012

allAfrica (10.13.12) Speaking for the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, head of RBC’s HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infectious Diseases Unit, has said that the public should take the same precautions against hepatitis that they do for HIV/AIDS. According to Nsanzimana, most prevalent in Rwanda are cases of hepatitis B at 3.6 percent—which now surpasses HIV, currently at 3 percent—and hepatitis C at 2.5 percent. Both virus strains can be transmitted through unsafe sex or primarily through contact with blood from an infected individual. It was not until two months ago when a survey was conducted, that health officials realized that Rwanda’s infection rate for hepatitis was high. Nsanzimana estimates that only 10 percent of infected persons might be getting treatment, but stresses that the ministry is doing all it can to deal with the disease. The ministry has established a unit focusing on hepatitis that is combined with the existing unit that deals with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. An estimated 500 million individuals experience chronic illness related to their infection from the hepatitis virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hepatitis B and C account for approximately 80 percent of all liver cancer cases.

Most Read: Latest Added Related Topics White House LGBT Conference on HIV/AIDS UNITED STATES: White House in Atlanta: LGBT AIDS Conference No more single-theme conferences: global HIV prevention conference planned FHI 360 Senior Scientist Lut Van Damme Receives International Microbicide Conference Lifetime Achievement Award Equatorial Guinea Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and UNICEF Refute Erroneous AIDS Prevalence Figures Photographs from A Day with HIV Now Online Bulgaria urges Libya to investigate AIDS nurses case Engineers enter fight against AIDS in Africa Gilead’s Complera® Non-Inferior to Atripla® Among Treatment-Naive HIV Patients UN chief Ban calls world leaders to end Aids by 2020 HIV messages should include MSM Stock-outs must be top of agenda TEXAS: Free HIV Testing CALIFORNIA: Entertainment AIDS Alliance (EAA) Presents 11th Annual Wine and Wisdom Fundraiser NORTH CAROLINA: ALFA Offers Free Community Health Educator Training in Hickory CALIFORNIA: Over Half of People Living with AIDS in San Francisco Are Aged 50 or Older THAILAND; UNITED STATES: HIV Drug Can Also Protect Injection Drug Users INDONESIA: Growing HIV/AIDS Awareness in Indonesia's Papua Region UNITED STATES: Many Young Americans Unaware They're Infected with HIV Board to Vote on Condoms in Boston Schools NORTH CAROLINA: ALFA Offers Free Community Health Educator Training in Hickory INDIANA: HepFest Provides Hepatitis C Awareness UNAIDS and Lancet to bring together political and health leaders to shape the debate on the future of global health OHIO: Phila Health Department HIV Testing Well-Received INDIA: India Faces TB Drug Shortage, Warns International Medical Org INDIA: WHO Issues Guide For New TB Drug World Health Organization Issues Interim Guidance on Bedaquiline ABL Acquires Evivar Medical Assets and Further Enhances its IT Solutions and Personalized Healthcare Platform for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV Infections UN Plus meets with UN Secretary-General to discuss issues affecting staff members living with HIV Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS Team With Health Departments and Local AIDS Service Organizations to Provide Free HIV Testing in Support of National HIV Testing Day
Copyright © 2012 -CDC Prevention News Update, Publisher. All rights reserved to Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, press releases and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles. Information in this article was accurate in October 15, 2012. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.