DOH rolls out anti-Hepatitis B survey nationwide

MANILA, Philippines — With an estimated 8.5 million Filipinos infected with Hepatitis B, the Department of Health (DOH) has rolled out a nationwide testing campaign targeting 3,000 children aged five to six years.

The program, dubbed National Hepatitis B Sero-prevalence Survey, aims to get a more accurate picture of the Hepatitis B problem in the country as Health Secretary Francisco Duque III cited the World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 estimate that 8.5 million Filipinos are chronically infected with the virus. 

“We want to be more effective in preventing Hepatitis B, and this survey will yield very important information on how DOH can improve its health services,” Duque said, adding that the number of children affected by the virus is still unknown.

Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver that can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and premature death.  

The program will be implemented in 25 provinces starting this month and is supported by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO.

Health teams will go to randomly selected households and request for parent’s consent for their children to participate in the activity. A small amount of blood will be drawn from the child and tested for Hepatitis B. The entire process will take around 30 minutes and the parent or caregiver will be present during the entire process.

“We appeal to parents or caregivers to allow their child, if selected, to be tested. Our survey teams have been trained to observe confidentiality in obtaining information,” Duque said. 

The DOH partnered with the Field Epidemiology Training Program Alumni Foundation in deploying survey teams to the covered provinces.  

Aside from assessing the progress towards Hepatitis B control in the country, the survey will help document the immunization program’s progress by measuring vaccination coverage among children. 

It will also provide baseline information as the country aims for the global goal of 0.1 percent Hepatitis B prevalence among children by 2030. 

Hepatitis B can be transmitted from mother-to-child through direct contact or after birth and through exposure to infected blood and other bodily fluids.

Vaccination remains the most important preventive measure against this disease.

Since 1992, Hepatitis B has been part of the routine childhood immunization program of the DOH.

The passage of Republic Act 10152 or the Mandatory Infants and Children Health Immunization Act of 2011 highlighted the importance of the first dose of Hepatitis B vaccine, which must be given within 24 hours from birth to prevent mother-to-child transmission of infection. 

Three more doses of the vaccine are then given during infancy (4-8 weeks, 10-16 weeks and before the child reaches one year old) for additional protection. 

Duque maintained that the “concerted efforts of the community, along with its local government leaders, will ensure the successful conduct of the survey.”