High incidence of hepatitis among UCH staff worrisome

University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan has expressed concern over a high incidence of hepatitis, a deadly infection that causes liver cirrhosis and cancer, among its work force,

UCH’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Temitope Alonge made the disclosure at a grand round on hepatitis in the hospital to alert its staffers on the finding and steps the hospitals was taken to curtail the problem.

Alonge stated that the hospital became concern due to an increase in number of staff coming down with acute hepatitis and hospital’s record which showed that many staff did not complete their medical tests.

According to him, “In our mortality report, we found also a slight increase in the number of liver cancer. This prompted our choice of the grand round.”

Alonge stated that the hospital’s resolve was to ensure every staff is screened and those found infected treated.

He said the hospital was already in talk with the Health Management organisation that the staff had professional indemnity with since hepatitis in a hospital setting was a hospital acquired infection.

Alonge assured that no staff will be left out of the exercise, that was to start screening and treatment for hepatitis by January.

Professor Samuel Ola, a consultant gastroenterologist,  in an overview of viral hepatitis stated that health workers were more at risk of the deadly infection due to many factors, including accidents at the work place and wrong practices in the hospital.

Ola, who declared the risk of contracting the infection also from other routes as drug use, stated that the infection transmission occurs more in the medical, surgical and intensive care units of hospitals.

He declared that UCH, Ibadan like Nigeria was hyper endemic for hepatitis and that between 50 and 80 per cent of the hospitals’ staff may be infected with the hepatitis virus.

However, he stated that cultural practices such as scarification, sharing of sharp objects such as razor blades, needles and household utensils such as toothbrushes makes the infection also spread in the community.

Ola cautioned people to get tested in appropriate hospitals that have competency for the test, saying false testing and treatment for hepatitis were going on in the country.

Dr Femi Popoola, a public health expert described hepatitis as a significant cause of sickness and death in the community, adding that the hospital’s policy to ensure its entire staff were screened, vaccinated and treated if need be was a significant step to achieving the third goal of the Sustainable Development Gaols (SDGs).

He also called for the integration of hepatitis prevention into existing health programmes of the government as well as the continuous surveillance for Hepatitis in the community.

Dr Adegboyega Akere stated that hepatitis B and C virus were important causes of liver cancer and liver cirrhosis, adding that incidence of liver cancer was high in Nigeria because of hepatitis.

Dr Akere, however, cautioned people taking alcohol, saying the risk of a liver cancer developing is higher in a person that have hepatitis B and who take alcohol.