AR sounds alarm on hepatitis B infections in young people

Affirmative Repositioning parliamentarian Esther Haikola-Sakaria has raised concerns about young people testing positive for hepatitis B.

She said this on Wednesday during her notice of questions to health minister Esperance Luvindao.

“During routine medical examinations, a growing number of Namibians, particularly the youth, are testing positive for hepatitis B. This virus causes inflammation of the liver and, when left untreated, can become chronic,” she said.

Hepatitis B is known to cause liver cirrhosis and ultimately liver cancer – an irreversible and life-threatening condition.

The hepatitis B virus, she said, is primarily transmitted through sexual contact, exposure to infected blood and other bodily fluids, much like HIV-AIDS.

She said hepatitis B is up to 100 times more infectious than HIV-AIDS, yet it receives far less public attention and awareness.

Haikola-Sakaria said while major strides have been made in HIV-AIDS awareness, education and treatment programmes across the country, the same cannot be said for hepatitis B, despite it posing an equally serious threat to public health.

Despite the seriousness of the disease, she said there appears to be a noticeable absence of public awareness campaigns by the Ministry of Health and Social Services regarding its dangers, modes of transmission and preventive measures.

The lack of awareness, she added, leaves many citizens at risk, with most people only discovering their condition after it has progressed to a critical, often untreatable stage.

She said the situation is troubling and requires immediate, strategic intervention from the government.

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