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WORLD HEPATITIS DAY

Hepatitis a silent killer
TAHIRA SHAMSI UTSA
“I did not know I had hepatitis C, not even during my pregnancy,” said Muslima Kader Mili, a 35-year-old mother of two.
The Brahmanbaria resident found out she had the virus in 2013 when doctors did her blood work, as she was one of the potential donors for her daughter, who needed to undergo an operation at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in the capital.
“That day, the doctors informed me of the virus and how the blood transfusion would also infect my child. I had never heard of any such virus before,” she added.
Mili had to take seven units of blood during her first C-section at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in 2002 as she developed eclampsia.
“I must have been infected during that time. However, none of my children have the virus,” she said.
According to doctors, hepatitis C can be transferred from mother to child but it is not contagious.
Nevertheless, many in Mili’s family and neighbourhood were unaware of the virus. But suggested alternative treatments by village quacks and homoeopathy, as the medicinal treatment for hepatitis C is expensive.
Marzia Begum, another 25-year-old mother of two, shared a similar experience.
“I did not know that I had hepatitis B when my first child, now 11 years old, was born. However, I got to know of my condition when my second child, a girl, was born in 2019,” she said.
The virus was passed on to her daughter Lamia, the second born.
Mili, Marzia, and Lamia are currently receiving free treatment at the National Liver Foundation Bangladesh (NLFB) under their Zakat Fund programme.
According to WHO, hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that is caused by a variety of infectious viruses and noninfectious agents leading to a range of health problems, some of which can be fatal.
The virus has five variants -- A, B, C, D, and E.
The A and E variants can be transmitted through food and drinking water but usually resolve within 4-8 weeks through the body’s built-in immune system, informed Dr Mohammad Ali, liver surgeon and founder of NLFB.
E variant can cause complications during pregnancy for the mother and her child. Meanwhile, the D and B variants may lead to chronic inflammation. However, the B and C variants are the deadliest, he mentioned.
Over 700 million people are infected with hepatitis every year, while around 1.1 million lose their lives to this virus every year, said the doctor, referring to a WHO study.
“Hepatitis B and C are the main causes of liver
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