People wait for medical examinations at the 175 Military Hospital in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Đan Phương

HCM CITY — The southern city targets to reduce the rate of hepatitis B virus infection in children under five years old to less than 0.5 per cent, and prevent mother-to-child transmission of the hepatitis B virus by 2050. 

Hồ Chí Minh City will strive to eliminate the transmission of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) that take place in health facilities and through blood transfusions, according to a plan on viral hepatitis prevention for the 2022-2025 period issued recently by the municipal People's Committee. 

It will also reduce the transmission of HBV and HCV among drug users, the transmission of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) through the gastrointestinal tract, and cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, and death relating to viral hepatitis B and C.

According to the World Health Organization, Việt Nam is among the countries that suffer the most from viral hepatitis B and C.

Around 40,000 people die of liver cancer each year in the country. Untreated hepatitis B and C viruses are the leading causes of cirrhosis and liver cancer, according to the Ministry of Health.

However, lack of knowledge about the disease leads people to hide it, causing a major barrier in hepatitis treatment and prevention.

Vaccination is considered an effective prevention, and an education programme on the importance of vaccines should be carried out, experts said.

There are vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and B, but there is no vaccine for hepatitis C.

The rate of hepatitis B in HCM City is 15 per cent of the city’s population. The prevalence of hepatitis C is about 1.5 per cent.

Results from an epidemiological survey implemented on 810 samples in the city showed that the rate of chronic hepatitis B infection is 9.3 per cent, and chronic hepatitis C infection is 0.3 per cent.

Statistics from the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases showed that an average of 800 patients are examined for liver diseases daily, of which, hepatitis B accounts for 60 percent, and hepatitis C accounts for 14 per cent.

To achieve the above objectives, the city will focus on increasing vaccination against hepatitis B for children,  and improve the professional capacity of grassroots health workers on prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of viral hepatitis. — VNS