Daikundi residents worried about Hepatitis B spread

Monitoring Desk

NEILI: Mostly uneducated about Hepatitis B disease, the residents of Miramor district in central Daikundi province say they are worried about the spread of the highly contagious virus.

The impoverished residents ask the government to facilitate them in treatment of the deadly virus because they are not economically sound and warn the disease could spread rapidly if the government does not come with preventive measures.

Ali Jan, a resident of Miramor district, who has been suffering from Hepatitis B, said: “I don’t have money to go to Kabul or a foreign country for treatment.”

Ali Mohammad, another resident, said: “I have been suffering from Hepatitis B, the government is not paying attention to us.”

Syed Asadullah Sadaat, a doctor at the Civil Hospital, said the disease was a serious liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). “It has A, B, C, D, E types and the B one is very dangerous.”

Meanwhile, health officials in Daikundi acknowledged Hepatitis B was spreading in the province and was in high prevalence in the district compared to the previous year.

Public Health Director Ishaq Ali Darman said in the past ten months, 4,376 persons underwent Hepatitis B tests in different clinics, with 160 proving positive.

He added Hepatitis B was could be prevented but unfortunately the vaccine for elderly people was not available in Daikunid health facilities.

Ministry of Public Health officials report an increase in the number of Hepatitis B patients in the country and say they have registered 36,000 patients. According to the ministry, the World Health Organization is trying to increase its coverage of the disease to curb the virus by 2030.