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Treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection in Nigeria: The need for a paradigm shift


Abstract

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 the management of chronic HBV infection 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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eISSN: 2467-8252
print ISSN: 2360-7793