04 Aug 2015

Princess Marina Hospital, through its liver clinic, commemorated World Hepatitis Day in Mochudi recently.

Dr Francesca Cainelli of the liver clinic said hepatitis was inflammation of the liver caused by various reasons with alcohol being the most dominant. 

She also said poor diet, infections and side effects or reactions caused by certain drugs could also cause the inflammation of the liver. 

Dr Cainelli said types of hepatitis virus ranged from A to G although there was no hepatitis F. 

“Most of the liver diseases are transmitted through the blood similar to the HIV virus whilst in some cases the virus is hereditary.Even the tests that we conduct work more or less the same as the HIV tests as we use the rapid test for instant results. The presence of antibodies and antigens means there is infection and infectious, however if antigens are absent and only antibodies then it means you were once infected although the virus can no longer live”, she said. 

Dr Cainelli said the most common virus in Botswana was hepatitis B, which affected people of all ages irrespective of their gender. 

She, however, said the body of females was able to fight off the disease as opposed to their male counterparts who were mostly chronic carriers. 

She said the test conducted in Mochudi were the first to be done outside Gaborone. 

Dr Cainelli noted that as of now, they could attribute the virus to affect only eight per cent of the whole population and decried the fact that there had not been any research to determine the geographical distribution within the whole country. 

The symptoms of the virus, she said, included fatigue, a flu-like illness, dark urine, pale stools and jaundice. 

Chief communications and public relations officer at Princess Marina Hospital, Mr Donnell Kutlapye, said the commemoration was part of their intention to take services closer to the people in particular to those who might not have an opportunity to test themselves in Gaborone.

“We have also opted for an informal event so that people can come and test at will throughout the day without any speeches but teaching them about liver diseases also so that we can have time for people to test themselves,” he said. 

He also said most patients at their clinic came from Mochudi hence they chose the area for the commemoration and awareness-raising. 

He appreciated the interest and cooperation shown by the people as a total of 248 people took the test during the day as opposed to the 25 people they test in a week at their clinic in Gaborone.  Ends