Abstract

Viral hepatitis is defined as a widespread infectious disease involving the inflammation of liver caused by hepatitis virus A, B, C, D and E. The majority of deaths linked to viral hepatitis are caused by HBV, HCV, and HDV, which are transmitted parenterally and induce chronic hepatitis with distant sequelae like liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer [1]. According to WHO latest estimates, viral hepatitis is now acknowledged as a serious public health problem in India with over 40 million people chronically infected with HBV and six to twelve million people with HCV. In a study dated in 2014 from Pune, it was shown that the sero-epidemiology of HAV in India was shifting, with the seroprevalence of the virus increasing from 30.3% in children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years to 50.3% underage group of 6 to 10 years. In addition, HEV epidemics are more prone to infect women in the third trimester than men and non-pregnant females [2].

Introduction

The commitment to tackle this national burden disease can be achieved through a series of step wise approaches aiming at prevention, management, diagnosis and treatment, monitoring and evaluation and training with capacity building. The foremost step towards prevention of viral hepatitis would highlight the efficiency of vaccination in the country. As per plan of Universal Immunization Programme, Hepatitis B vaccine has to be given at birth with subsequent doses at 6,10,14 weeks in combination with other vaccines i.e., DPT and Hib in the form of pentavalent vaccine. In a study analyzing the vaccine coverage based upon National Family Health Survey 4, 45% of children of 12-59 months were found to be unvaccinated for hepatitis B with the uptake having a predominant dependency upon the socio-economic and demographic characteristics. While low utilization of maternal health service (PNC and ANC)

Letter to Editor

Contributed to low vaccination status, mothers who were under Janani Surakha Yojana scheme for financial assistance were contributing to better coverage districts. The level of education of the mothers also played a significant role in increased chances of their children getting vaccinated [3]. Strengthening the availability of health care services in geographical cold spots with low vaccination coverage along with sensitizing the staff to counsel the mother during the prenatal period about the advantages of uptake of vaccines in their children can play a pivotal role to tackle this disease. The delivery of the vaccination to the HCFs should also be improved by a safe cold chain supply of the vaccines and training the staff about the proper usage to avoid wastage of the drug.

Author Statements

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

This editorial paper does not involve any studies with human or animal subjects. Therefore, ethics approval and consent to participate are not applicable.

Availability of Data and Materials

Data and materials used in this editorial paper are from publicly available sources and are referenced accordingly.

Competing Interests

All authors declare that there is no competing interest related to this paper.