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By Lawrence Okwakol-Pallisa
The Pallisa district health officer Dr. Godfrey Mulekwa has challenged people to mind about themselves and carry out various health tests especially for Hepatitis B among others.
Mulekwa gave the tip while addressing media on health matters of the district at the district headquarters on Monday, 5th Decemeber, 2022. Mulekwa said in one mass screening exercise held at Kibale out of 1,400 it was discovered that 47 tested positive.
He said though there is a weakness of getting death medical reports, Pallisa lost about 500 people with hepatitis B related symptoms and that the signs were rampant in Kibale, Opwateta and Kamuge among other sub counties.
“Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). For most people, hepatitis B is short term, also called acute, and lasts less than six months. But for others, the infection becomes chronic, meaning it lasts more than six months. Having chronic hepatitis B increases your risk of developing liver failure, liver cancer or cirrhosis — a condition that permanently scars the liver ,so I call upon people to go for screening in the nearby health facilities”, Mulekwa said.
Emmanuel Olebo the proprietor of Kibale Health Centre said there is need for government too distribute the test kits to private health facilities as well because the people who go for services there are not private.
Olebo said. Hepatitis claims lives but the communities mistake deaths with hepatitis symptoms as slow poison.
Sam Okwii the former LC3 of Akisim sub county said treatment of hepatitis B is expensive for a common person because in so called cheap facilities the rates range from 150,000 to 300,000.
Okwii said he lost his relative John Odongo of Omukulai village in Kibale town council and now a widow is struggling with seven orphans.
Magid Dhikusoka the Pallisa resident district commissioner thanked government for the inclusion of hepatitis B as a killer disease.
Dhikusoka said previous in our education syllabus only six diseases were taken as killer but all these pandemic should be listed.
