Afghanistan six years on: public healthcare in war-thorn country ( Part one)
Hepatitis B: prevalence, behavioural groups, treatment and drugs availability
According to official statistics published by ministry of public health in Kabul hepatitis B kills 11, 000 people annually, with 7% of the country's population infected.
The ministry of health spokesman says it is a major health problem in Afghanistan, each year approximately 100,000 people are infected and results in considerable loss of life. The cash-strapped government of Kabul is unable to do much.
However the figures published are somewhat encouraging: there is a nationwide campaign to vaccinate children under two, this mass immunization is conducted in Afghanistan for the first time but if there is not enough cash flow to fund the campaign it will be halted very soon.
In the Antoni infectious disease hospital in Kabul, supported by a charity, there are only 200 beds available and the number of patients referring to the facility is increasing.
When a patient is suffering from a chronic conditin it affects the whole family, particulary if the bread-winner of the house is the victim.
My uncle had chronic Hepatitis B which progressed to cirrhosis within a few years; he died at a very young age, like our family was, many are devastated by the viral infection.
Each patient in the hospital has a sad tale of how it all started. Mohammad Amin's symptoms started by just mild abdominal pain and fatigue but slowly deteriorated to a point where he cannot move without feeling the excruciating pain in his abdomen and thorax which spreads throughout his body.
The blood-borne virus is spread through sexual contact, sharing needles and contaminated blood. The bevioural groups affected by the disease are mostly drug addicts who returned to Afghanistan from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran and re-using contaminated needles without proper sterilisation.
The lack of public awareness of the disease has made the small efforts by the government and some NGOs very difficult. Social engineering is a key element in preventing the spread of the disease especially among the newborns and infants.
During the acute phase of the disease the symptom which is quickly recognized by people is skin jaundice, but most seek traditional herbal and folk remedies.
The quality of the medical treatment has affected people's trust in evidence-based medicine and this is further aggravated by generic (counterfeit) drugs with very low or zero efficacy.
The policy of most hospitals; is to refuse confirmed carriers admission.
Most nurses are apprehensive about cross-infection and will not admit any HBV+ patients in to the wards. This causes a lot of grief for pregnant women who are financially unable to get treatment for pregnancy complications in private clinics and often end up in the hands of midwives who are just relying on their experience.
According to official statistics published by ministry of public health in Kabul hepatitis B kills 11, 000 people annually, with 7% of the country's population infected.
The ministry of health spokesman says it is a major health problem in Afghanistan, each year approximately 100,000 people are infected and results in considerable loss of life. The cash-strapped government of Kabul is unable to do much.
However the figures published are somewhat encouraging: there is a nationwide campaign to vaccinate children under two, this mass immunization is conducted in Afghanistan for the first time but if there is not enough cash flow to fund the campaign it will be halted very soon.
In the Antoni infectious disease hospital in Kabul, supported by a charity, there are only 200 beds available and the number of patients referring to the facility is increasing.
When a patient is suffering from a chronic conditin it affects the whole family, particulary if the bread-winner of the house is the victim.
My uncle had chronic Hepatitis B which progressed to cirrhosis within a few years; he died at a very young age, like our family was, many are devastated by the viral infection.
Each patient in the hospital has a sad tale of how it all started. Mohammad Amin's symptoms started by just mild abdominal pain and fatigue but slowly deteriorated to a point where he cannot move without feeling the excruciating pain in his abdomen and thorax which spreads throughout his body.
The blood-borne virus is spread through sexual contact, sharing needles and contaminated blood. The bevioural groups affected by the disease are mostly drug addicts who returned to Afghanistan from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran and re-using contaminated needles without proper sterilisation.
The lack of public awareness of the disease has made the small efforts by the government and some NGOs very difficult. Social engineering is a key element in preventing the spread of the disease especially among the newborns and infants.
During the acute phase of the disease the symptom which is quickly recognized by people is skin jaundice, but most seek traditional herbal and folk remedies.
The quality of the medical treatment has affected people's trust in evidence-based medicine and this is further aggravated by generic (counterfeit) drugs with very low or zero efficacy.
The policy of most hospitals; is to refuse confirmed carriers admission.
Most nurses are apprehensive about cross-infection and will not admit any HBV+ patients in to the wards. This causes a lot of grief for pregnant women who are financially unable to get treatment for pregnancy complications in private clinics and often end up in the hands of midwives who are just relying on their experience.
posted by sharif at
4:35 AM
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