Contaminated Food, Drug Abuse Increase Risk Of Hepatitis – Experts

Consumption of contaminated food, unclean water and intake of overdose drugs has been identified as the major causes of various categories of hepatitis in human body.

Dr. Johnson Ogunmade said this during an annual health seminar and get-together organised for Ogun State Ministry of Health community health practitioners with the theme; ‘Reducing prevalence of hepatitis disease: Role of Community Health Practitioners’ held in Abeokuta.
Ogunmade said hepatitis A which was the most commonest among the five categories in the country was as a result of drug abuse, unclean environment and intake of contaminated food and water, adding that hepatitis B if not quickly diagnosed can kill even faster than HIV/AIDs and can easily be transmitted through body fluid.
He said hepatitis C and D can be transmitted through unprotected sex and blood transfusion respectively, while that of hepatitis E could be transmitted through water-borne diseases, saying that symptoms to watch out for all categories of hepatitis include fatigue, fever, nossia, vomiting, pale, stooling, abdominal pains and lost of appartite.
Charging participants to always advise their patients to imbibed good hygiene life style, maintain cleaner environment, avoid the intake of contaminated food, watching of fruits before consumption and stay away from undercooked food, Dr Ogunmade said that hepatitis disease can be greatly reduced when people imbibed the habit of regular hand washing.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman, National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria (NACHPN) Ogun State Ministry of Health Branch, Comrade Afuape Olusola said the training was aimed at eradicating hepatitis in the state, saying that to accomplish it, campaign against hepatitis must start from the Community Health workers who are closer to the rural dwellers.
According to him, “Community health workers are most closer to the rural dwellers and our concerns should be on disease prevention and control if we are to achieve health for all citizens.”
Quoting Late Professor Olikoye Ransome Kuti, he said: “Primary health will not succeed unless the community health workers possess the required skill, knowledge and rightly positioned to take full ownership of primary health care activities.”
Afuape said apart from the fact that hepatitis is more deadly than HIV/AIDS, the theme of the seminar; ‘Reducing prevalence of hepatitis disease: Role of Community Health Practitioners’ has been carefully chosen to further sensitise members of the public on dangers of hepatitis.

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