UNAIR NEWS – Indonesia is still an endemic area for hepatitis, although it is not under the public spotlight. However, there have been 745,000 deaths and 800,000 new cases. It was conveyed by a lecturer of Faculty of Medicine Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) Dr Bagus Setyoboedi dr SpAK in the Scientific Seminar on Health for Clinical Laboratory Experts (SIKLIK), “Get to Know More About Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Followed by the Role of MLT in the Examination”. He said liver cancer is more difficult to cure because the diagnosis is often found at an intermediate or late stage.
“Hepatitis is inflammation of the necrosis/liver tissue due to viral and non-viral infections such as bacteria and parasites. There is also an autoimmune cause. The emergence can be in the long term. Sometimes it leads to liver cancer. However, chronic hepatitis occurs after acute hepatitis, usually experienced by patients infected with hepatitis C and hepatitis B,” he explained on Sunday. September 4, 2022.
Bagus also mentioned some symptoms of acute hepatitis B , such as fever, weakness, nausea and jaundice. Moreover, the Hepatitis B surface antigen or HBsAg showed positive, alanine transaminase (ALT) or the enzyme that converts protein into energy used by liver cells went up, anti-HBc IgM, HBeAg, and HBV DNA came up positive. WHO has also made a countermeasure for early detection of acute hepatitis, which will be carried out in hospital management.
Furthermore, Ferdy Royland Marpaung, dr. Sp PK, Head of the Department of Clinical Pathology, Dr. Soetomo Hospital, added that based on data from WHO, there were 296 million people infected with chronic hepatitis B leading to 1.5 million new infections every year.
“Hepatitis B is indeed a serious disease, and hepatitis B is the main cause of liver cancer,” said Ferdy, an alumnus of UNAIR.
Ferdy also conveyed that based on statistics from the Jakarta Cancer Registry, the ratio of liver disease in women was 1.4/100,000 population and in men it was 4.0/100,000 population. Hepatitis B virus can survive for more than 7 days outside the body and the incubation period is 2-6 months with an average of 60 days.
Meanwhile, the emergence of mysterious hepatitis in children in Indonesia as of June 23, 2022, has confirmed 70 cases with the largest distribution in Jakarta province and has become a serious issue or public spotlight. Therefore, the UNAIR alumnus explained some general precautions. The community is expected to remain calm and careful, wash their hands regularly with soap, drink clean water and eat well-cooked food, dispose of feces or diapers in place, never share eating utensils with other people, keep the house and environment clean, reduce mobility, maintain distance, and wear masks.
Author: Viradyah Lulut Santosa
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
