Babies should get hepa-B vaccine
On World Hepatitis Day, the Department of Health (DOH) urged new mothers and pregnant women to have their infants vaccinated against hepatitis B from birth to lessen the risk of infection.
Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said the percentage of babies vaccinated under the government program was too low at 51 percent last year, despite the availability of free vaccine at DOH facilities.
“I encourage all [new mothers and] mothers-to-be and their loved ones to demand from health workers that their newborns be immunized against hepatitis B within 24 hours of birth,” Ubial said.
The DOH, with the World Health Organization (WHO), Hepatology Society of the Philippines and Yellow Warriors Society Philippines, marked World Hepatitis Day on Thursday.
The DOH reminded government-run hospitals to always have a ready supply of vaccines.
Lessen infections
Ubial stressed the importance of vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B to lessen the risk of infections later in life.
Free hepatitis B vaccines are available at government hospitals, with mothers to be taught the importance of vaccination at birth.
Succeeding doses are administered at ages one-and-a-half months, two and a half months, and three and a half months in the form of the combination Pentavalent vaccine for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, haemophilus influenzae B and hepatitis B.
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver, which may cause long-term infection and eventually damage the major organ. Hepatitis B is the leading cause of liver damage and liver cancer in the Philippines with 7.3-million Filipinos infected.
It may be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby or through unprotected sex, contaminated blood transfusions and sharing of contaminated needles or personal items.
“We know that all vaccines have the potential to bring us that much closer to a world where millions of children no longer die from causes we could prevent,” Ubial said.
The WHO meanwhile urged policy-makers, health workers and the public to work toward the complete elimination of hepatitis by 2030.
Dr. Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, noted that hepatitis remained a concern in the region.
“We now have effective anti-virals that can stop hepatitis B and even potentially reverse the progress of the disease. The vast majority of hepatitis C cases can now be cured in just three months,” the WHO said.
