Suara.com – The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) said that 35 thousand babies are at risk of contracting the hepatitis B virus or HBV through the blood of infected pregnant women.
Hepatitis B or inflammation of the liver or liver is contained in the blood or body fluids of sufferers, such as sperm and vaginal fluids. The hepatitis B virus can be transmitted through sexual contact, either vaginally, anal or orally.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health Dr. Mohammad Syahril said direct transmission of hepatitis B from mother to child dominated the total transmission of 35,757 babies in 2022.
“Hepatitis B transmission from mother to child vertically accounts for 90-95% of all other sources of transmission,” said dr. Syahril through information received by suara.com, Thursday (19/5/2023).
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Illustration of Acute Hepatitis (Pixabay)
According to dr. Syahril is concerned, even though of the tens of thousands of babies born to hepatitis B positive mothers, most of them have received Hb0 and HBg immunizations less than 24 hours after birth.
“However, there are still 135 babies positive for Hepatitis B at the age of 9 to 12 months,” said dr. Syahril.
Hepatitis B or Hb0 vaccine up to 3 doses with a certain period given to babies after birth will reduce the prevalence of hepatitis B. But this immunization does not necessarily eliminate the risk of liver damage such as cirrhosis and hepatoma for which no cure has been found.
“Babies infected with hepatitis B are likely to become chronic and have cirrhosis of up to 80%. And unfortunately there is no effective treatment yet. So it is important to break the flow of transmission,” continued Dr. Syahril.
Sadly, the Ministry of Health also found 50,744 hepatitis B positive pregnant women in 2022. So to cut off or prevent hepatitis transmission as early as possible, Hepatitis B early detection must be carried out integrated with HIV and Syphilis testing for at least 80% of pregnant women.
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This activity is called Triple Elimination, which is intended to break or prevent vertical transmission from mother to child.
The administration of three doses of Hepatitis B immunization to infants is also included in the national immunization program to prevent children from falling sick. Including giving HB0 less than 24 hours to reduce transmission from mother to baby.
Apart from that, it is also necessary to give HBIg to babies born to HBsAg reactive mothers, and give Tenofovir to pregnant women with high viral loads.
In addition, early detection should also be carried out for at-risk groups such as injecting needle users (IDU) and ex-IDU, PLHIV, hemodialysis patients, key populations such as prisoners, PS, and MSM, history of transfusion, history of tattoos, piercings and the use of non-sterile medical devices for stop transmission.
finally dr. Syahril also appealed to the Indonesian people to avoid risky sex practices, if hepatitis transmission can occur through bodily fluids including semen and saliva.
“For example, kissing until an injury occurs can transmit the hepatitis virus, and don’t forget to use protection to avoid things that can pose a risk of transmission to the health and growth of children,” concluded dr. Syahril.
