Santo Domingo.- Probably more than 300,000 people infection with hepatitis B and C Dominican Republic, according to the World Health Organization.
If left undetected and treated, these diseases kill more people each year than AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria.
How are they spread? What are your most effective preventive measures?
Ninety percent of people with hepatitis C in the country don’t know they have the disease because it usually strikes silently and when symptoms do appear, it’s usually in an advanced stage.
This disease, which affects the liver, is spread through contact with bodily fluids or blood.
The hepatitis C virus usually damages the liver and causes death. Although there is no vaccine for the disease, in recent years, very effective therapies have been developed to treat it.
The main symptoms of the disease include:
-fatigue
– prolonged fever
– loss of appetite
-lose weight
– Nausea and vomiting
-joint pain
– dark yellow urine
Meanwhile, hepatitis B is a cause of chronic infection; but fortunately, there is a very effective vaccine against it, infection like hepatitis Cthrough contact with the blood or body fluids of a virus carrier.
In the case of hepatitis A, it is acquired through contaminated food or water. Although a person may become very ill, it does not become a chronic infection.
The vaccine protects against hepatitis A and is especially important for children and travelers.
As far as hepatitis C is concerned, there is still no vaccine to prevent infection.