Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) has made a call to the general public to be cautious and protect themselves against hepatitis.Speaking to The New Times, the head of HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infectious unit in RBC, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana said the public should take the same precautions against hepatitis as they do for HIV/AIDS.According to Nsanzimana, the most prevalent cases in Rwanda are of hepatitis B and C.He said a recent survey put hepatitis B prevalence at 3.6%, which has now surpassed the prevalence of HIV, currently at 3%. Hepatitis C is at 2.5 percent. “Both hepatitis B and C can be transmitted through unsafe sex or primarily through contact with the blood of an infected person.”“Certain drugs, heavy alcohol use, and bacterial and viral infections are some of the causes of hepatitis.“We never used to have details about the disease in the country and we realised that the infection rate was high some two months ago, when we conducted a survey,” he says.Treatment of the disease remains a great challenge for patients since it was not included among the high priorities so that the country might have prepared in advance for it.Overall, hepatitis C remains the most dangerous type.“Hepatitis C is very serious and its treatment remains inefficient though very expensive – costing about Rwf1 million per month while chances to be cured remain at about 50%,” explained Nsanzimana, adding that a hepatitis C patient can be treated for at least eight months or longer depending on the state.Hepatitis B treatment is however more affordable. Since the country had not given special attention to the disease until recently, the reporting system has surely not been efficient; hence the lack of exact figures on the trend of the disease.But Nsanzimana estimates that only 10% of the infected persons might be getting treatment. He however added that the ministry had been doing all it can to deal with the disease. In this regard, a unit dealing with hepatitis has been established and combined with the existing one that deals with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.He added that they were in negotiations with companies that manufacture drugs for the disease to sell them at 50 percent discount.Local insurance schemes like Rama, CORAR and MMI have been contacted to provide cover.Currently, testing services of the disease are provided at National Referral Laboratory, National Blood Transfusion Centre, King Faisal Hospital, Rwanda Military Hospital - Kanombe, CHUK and CHUB as well as a few private health facilities.According to World Health Organization (WHO), hepatitis B and C account for almost 80% of all liver cancer cases. An estimated 500 million people experience chronic illness from their infection with hepatitis; it is a major cause of liver cancer and liver cirrhosis.
