Medical

Arra Perez

ABS-CBN News

<div><span dir="ltr" id="isPasted"></span></div><p>MANILA — Health Secretary Ted Herbosa on Thursday stressed the importance of sanitation, even in food handling, as a measure to prevent Hepatitis B.</p><p>Vaccines are also available against the disease. </p><p>Like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C has a &quot;chronic carrier&quot;, Herbosa said.</p><p>&quot;Ang Hep[atitis] B is spread through fecal-oral. So iyong nagsha-share kayo ng pagkain with a hepatitis positive person. At ang sad dito, all Hepatitis B and C, merong tinatawag na chronic carrier. So kaya tine-test iyong food handlers for Hepa[titis] C. If you&#x27;re working in a restaurant, papa-test ka for Hepa[titis] C kasi kung ikaw iyong taga-gawa ng sandwich sa isang fastfood, pwede mong ipasa iyong infection,&quot; he said in a press conference.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/10/ph-among-countries-with-high-cases-of-viral-hepatitis-1821">READ: Hepatitis viruses kill 3,500 people a day: WHO</a></div><p>&quot;So very important iyong magsuot ng gloves and washing of hands. Very important ang sanitation para ma-prevent ang spread ng Hep[atitis] B. But the best is you get vaccinated,&quot; he added.</p><p>Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed alarm over deaths due to viral hepatitis infections which averaged around 3,500 deaths per day in 2022, based on the 2024 Global Hepatitis Report.</p><p>In a press conference Thursday, the Department of Health (DOH) said its Epidemiology Bureau collects data on the number of screening tests for different sexually transmitted Infections (STIs) - such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C - from public and private Laboratory and Blood Bank facilities nationwide.</p><p>&quot;In January to December 2023, a total of 1.9M (1,938,319) were tested for Hepatitis B screening where 3.12 percent of them have tested reactive. Compared to last year, at 1.4 million (1,460,288) the testing rate is 33 percent higher while the reactivity rate is slightly lowered from 3.30 percent  to 3.12 percent,&quot; the agency&#x27;s data read.</p><p>&quot;Top regions with highest testing rates for Hepatitis B were from the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Visayas (Region 7), and Central Luzon (Region 3). These regions comprised almost half (48%) of the total Hepatitis B screening tests conducted in the country. Reactivity rates vary across regions. High reactivity rate may be reported among regions with lower testing rate or those targeting high-risk populations,&quot; it added.</p><p>Eighty percent of the reported Hepatitis B screening tests were conducted among females, &quot;of which, nearly half (45 percent) were pregnant at the time of testing. Among all females tested, 2.70 percent were tested reactive, 2.41 percent among pregnant and 3.88 percent among males.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/10/ph-among-countries-with-high-cases-of-viral-hepatitis-1821">READ: PH among countries with high cases of viral hepatitis</a></div><p>For Hepatitis C, DOH data show: &quot;In January to December 2023, a total of 480K (481,462) were tested for Hepatitis C screening tests where 0.83 percent of them tested reactive. Compared to last year, at 400,000 (405,675) the testing rate is 19 percent higher while the reactivity rate is slightly lowered from 0.93 percent to 0.83 percent.&quot;</p><p>Regions with the highest testing rates for Hepatitis C include National Capital Region (NCR), Central Visayas (Region 7), and Davao Region (Region 11).</p><p>&quot;These regions comprised 70 percent of the total Hepatitis C screening tests conducted in the country. Among all tested, the highest reactivity rates for Hepatitis C were from Region 7 (2.36 percent), Region 3 (2.25 percent) and Region 6 (1.53 percent) while the rest of the country reported 1.37 percent reactivity rate,&quot; according to the data.</p><p>&quot;More than half (53 percent) of the reported Hepatitis C screening tests were conducted among males. Of which, 1.01 percent were tested reactive and 0.63 percent were among females,&quot; it added.</p><p>The Health agency explained that the data was derived from the Laboratory and Blood Bank Surveillance (LaBBS), which is &quot;test-based&quot;.</p><p>&quot;Double reporting is possible if one person got tested in multiple laboratories or at multiple times during the year. Counts are from all reporting facilities and are subject to change after further validation and inclusion of delayed reports,&quot; the DOH said.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JaD0PJjIpEc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Health Secretary Ted Herbosa on Thursday stressed the importance of sanitation, even in food handling, as a measure to prevent Hepatitis B.</p>

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa on Thursday stressed the importance of sanitation, even in food handling, as a measure to prevent Hepatitis B.

Sanitation, vaccination ways to prevent Hepatitis B, says Herbosa | ABS-CBN

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Sanitation, vaccination ways to prevent Hepatitis B, says Herbosa

Sanitation, vaccination ways to prevent Hepatitis B, says Herbosa

Arra Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 11, 2024 07:18 PM PHT

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sanitation

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