Wa, April 3, GNA - The Out Patient Department (OPD) of the St. Joseph's Hospital in Jirapa recorded 88 cases of Hepatitis B last year as one of the affected persons succumbed to disease. He said the monthly recordings at the OPD put July on top of the list with 28 Hepatitis B cases out of the 1,377 patients that were admitted to the hospital last year.

Dr. Alfredo Perez, Specialist in first grade GCM at the St. Joseph's Hospital revealed this in a presentation on the morbidity and mortality rate of Hepatitis B in Jirapa at the Cuban Medical Brigade Regional Scientific Workshop at Wa on Tuesday. The Doctor mentioned liver inflammation, vomiting and jaundice as some of the symptoms associated with the disease. Touching on chronic Hepatitis B, Dr. Perez said it could lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer and a victim could die. He noted that about three to six per cent of the world's population had been affected by the disease, saying only about one third of the percentage had so far been exposed.

He, however, noted that during the year under review, cases of the disease in the district were lower than those of the previous years. Dr. Perez said in order to further reduce the prevalence rate of the disease in the district, they must design effective Hepatitis B preventive and control programmes and intensify public education at the community level.

He therefore advised the public to refrain from having unprotected sex, the sharing of cups, towels, and sponges and eating together in the same bowl in order to protect themselves from the disease. 3 April 10