People infected with viral disease, Hepatitis have been urged not to resort to herbal treatment.
Herbal treatment, according to Dr Emmanuel Dotse, has increased the rate of hepatitis related deaths in the country.
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Viral hepatitis B and C are leading infectious disease killers as it affects 325 million people worldwide leading to 1.4 million deaths every year.
In Ghana, data from the health facilities reveal that a total of 117,905 viral hepatitis cases were seen between 2014 and 2018 out of which 421 deaths were recorded.
With support of World Health Organisation, the Ministry of Health in Ghana is working on a national policy on viral hepatitis, as well as developing a five-year strategic plan to come up with different ways and effective interventions on how to reduce the disease burden.
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Dr Dotse, who is the Programs Manager for Viral Hepatitis Control at the Ghana Health Service, said their effort is not yielding results because patients are now resorting to alternative medicines.
He stressed that, as a viral disease, it can be managed with orthodox medicines not herbal medicine as many believe.
“Anyone with Hepatitis has a weak liver so if you drink these herbal concoctions, you are only killing yourself,” Dr Dotse said.
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Oh his part, the Executive Director of the Hepatitis Alliance of Ghana, Charles Ampong Adjei bemoaned the high cost of hepatitis drugs in Ghana.
He said in other African countries, the drug is one of the cheapest because it is heavily subsidised by their governments.
“A lot of people are dying from Hepatitis due to late vaccination and inadequate funding,” he noted.
Mr Adjei called on the government to intervene and reduce import duties on Hepatitis drugs.
Source: Ghana|Adomonline.com|Adwoa Gyasiwaa Agyeman