Gorontalo Health Office early detection of Hepatitis C in at-risk populations

Gorontalo (ANTARA) – The Gorontalo Provincial Health Office (Dinkes) will conduct early detection of Hepatitis C in at-risk populations such as people living with HIV (PLHIV), injecting drug users (IDUs), correctional inmates, and hemodialysis patients.

Head of the Gorontalo Provincial Health Office, Yana Yanti Suleman, said on Friday that Hepatitis C screening would begin after officers from puskesmas and hospitals attended training.

“This year the target starts from Gorontalo Regency. The hepatitis program was first implemented in 2016 simultaneously in 54 cities in 34 provinces including Gorontalo Province. In 2016 the target is Gorontalo City,” he said in Gorontalo.

According to him, program development has been carried out in several other districts, namely Boalemo Regency, Gorontalo Regency, North Gorontalo Regency, Bone Bolango Regency and Pohuwato Regency from 2017 to 2020.

Meanwhile, in 2021, the target of implementing the hepatitis early detection program includes all pregnant women and babies born to pregnant women suffering from hepatitis.

He explained that hepatitis is still a threat to health globally and according to WHO every 30 seconds someone loses their life due to hepatitis B or C.

“The risk of mother-to-child transmission for HIV is 20-45 percent, syphilis 69-80 percent while hepatitis B is more than 90 percent. This means that hepatitis B is more infectious than HIV and syphilis,” said Yana.

One of the efforts to break the chain of hepatitis transmission is through the elimination of transmission, which is expected to achieve hepatitis elimination by 2030.

“The key is to bring services closer to the community, so that patients can be detected early and get maximum treatment,” he said.

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