Treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection in Nigeria: The need for a paradigm shift
Keywords:
Chronic hepatitis B infection, Treatment, Test and TreatAbstract
Viral hepatitis is inflammation of the liver which is caused by hepatotropic
viruses that primarily infect the liver, mainly viral hepatitis A to E. Out of these viruses, both the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) have the
tendency to cause chronic infection with the resultant complications which are
mainly cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. The current prevalence of HBV
infection in Nigeria is 8.1% making Nigeria highly endemic for HBV and
among the countries with the greatest burden of the infection globally.
One of the factors driving the increase in HBV prevalence and its related
complications in Nigeria is the criteria for commencement of antiviral for HBV
infection according to the current guideline for the management of chronic
hepatitis B and C by the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in
Nigeria (SOGHIN) which only few infected individuals fulfil. This is especially
true in places where liver biopsy services or fibroscan are not available to
ascertain necroinflammation and/or fibrosis in the liver.
It is obvious that the current guideline for th? management of chronic HBV
inf?ction in Nigeria by SOGHIN is deficient and may not help the country to
put an end to hepatitis B infection including its related complications anytime
soon. Therefore, this article tries to propose a better alternative guideline of
the ''test and treat'' strategy for HBV infection in the country.
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