By all intents and purposes, the government is trying it best to curtail the spread of infective hepatitis in its health management target and strategy across the country. This necessitated the recent orchestrated NAISS (Nigeria Aids Indicators and Impacts Survey) campaign sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Health across the 36 States of federation to determine the impacts of HIV and Hepatitis among the citizenry. Laudable and commendable as the effort is, however, it should not be assessment and survey alone but rather sporadic approach to quench the ember of hepatitis scourge ravaging the land and killing mostly innocent victims in their prime.
Scientifically, it is believed that hepatitis is commonly caused by viral infection (infection caused by the presence of a virus in the body) and researchers went ahead to proof that apart from viral infection; autoimmune hepatitis (this is liver inflammation that occurs when your body’s immune system turns against liver cells) is another thing that cause hepatitis. The autoimmune hepatitis may be as a result of medications, drugs, toxins and alcohol intake by many people. Consciously or unconsciously, people take a lot of unauthorized medications which are detrimental to human internal organs. Much damage is being done to many livers by the organic herbal concoction which their culinary and medicinal properties could not be ascertained even by these-so-called vendors who are everywhere in the country.
Succinctly put, hepatitis refers to an inflammatory condition of the liver. Liver as one of the major organ of the body perform significant functions that affect human metabolism in our body. In this process, two kind of metabolism are often distinguished. These are constructive metabolism which is the synthesis of the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats which form tissue and store energy, and destructive metabolism which has to do with the breakdown of complex substances and the consequent production of energy and waste matter. Thus, the two aforementioned metabolism must work pari passu in human body and it must be noted that the collapse of any one of this will expose human body to antigens which are invaders that sneak into our bodies and can possibly cause us harm; however, they trigger our immune system, which fights them off.
Antigens are mainly microbes such as bacteria, parasites, and fungi. They can also come from the environment, such as viruses, chemicals, pollen, and more. Each antigen may cause infection to the body. It is instructive to point out that ignorant consumption of toxins and herbal concoction which are often mixture of alcohol with other toxic materials are downright injurious and sometimes cause toxic liver injury. In many household across the country most especially in the rural areas, children are coerced to fortify their bowel with herbal concoction before taking their breakfast. Some of these concoctions are good and effective while most of them damage peoples’ internal organ unknowingly. Obviously, HCV is treatable (it could be treated and when a patient is tested he/she would be certified free at the end of the treatment) but the bad news is that there is no preventive vaccine against it, while HBV can only be managed and bring under control if contracted, however, the good news about it is that there are three preventive vaccine taking at intervals after which one may be immune from HBV for life.
The recent accreditation of herbalism (the study or practice of the medicinal and therapeutic use of plants, now especially as a form of alternative medicine) to be introduced by the University of Ibadan and others is a welcome development to checkmate many unauthorized practitioner of herbalism. Unlike herbalist who source his/her material from a dealer in medicinal herbs market (Eleweomo), University is expected to develop and grow its own herbary and scientifically process herbal remedies in laboratory before it is made available for public consumption with a quantifiable quantum quantity to be taken at a time, and not unquantifiable voluminous quantity being taken by the consumer which is killing.
The startling discovery of an attempt by a family friend to employ a maid who will assist the madam at home front reveals to me the depth of infective hepatitis in our society. Out of twelve young girls of age 18 to 22 tested for HIV, HBV and HCV, only two came out clean and free of the three diseases. Nine of them had HBV or HCV and one had HIV. A hairdresser was reported to have collapsed while plaiting the customer hair, she was rushed to the hospital and put on life support machine, after series of test it was discovered that she had HBV which had metamorphose into chronic liver cirrhosis. The lady did not survive, she died few days after admission. A man was said to have discovered that he had HBV when he donated blood for his sick daughter, he did not recover from the sudden shock of living with HBV all his life, he died few days after this discovery.
The stake is high, something should be done to ameliorate and tame the hepatitis scourge that is spreading like a wild fire in the bush. A lot of Nigerians are living with HBV and HCV unknowingly; physical fitness or appearance does not mean health fitness. Thus, Nigerians are urged to take advantage of the renew effort of Federal Government via Federal Ministry of Health to go for status check and screening. Like HIV, Hepatitis drugs and series of test should be subsidized to the barest minimum. As people are campaigning and sensitizing one another to collect PVC in preparation for 2019 elections, let Nigerians take advantage of FMH NAISS to screen themselves in preparation for a liver disease free life.
Bello wrote this piece from Abuja
