Hepatitis pathologies in Comoros

 

                                                Dr. Abdurazak delivering his presentation during the workshop

A training workshop about hepatitis was held on 11^th May, 2022 at Les Arcades Hotel in Moroni, the capital of Comoros. It is a project entitled ‘’ training, screening program and awareness of the viral hepatitis in Comoros’’. The workshop is financially backed by the WHO (word health organization) and a Comorian association called SITARA with the support of the Comorian ministry of health and solidarity. The workshop was organized in favor of the professors and instructors of the University of Comoros. According to the organizers, other meetings will be organized to raise awareness of the illness in favor of the students of the University of Comoros.      

Dachiroudine Ameldine is a Fulbright alumnus. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville campus, class 2020) in public health. He explains that the aim of their project is to curb the spread of the viral hepatitis A and B in Comoros by 2030 through awareness, prevention and continuous actions.   

An assessment quiz paper was submitted to the trainees in order to evaluate them. It consisted of 20 questions about signs and symptoms, prevention, etc. They have to choose the best answer by selecting the letter A, B, C, D or E. Before taking the quiz, professor Abdulaziz from the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences suggested the workshop trainers to translate in Shikomori language the quiz which was in French to make sure that some professors of the Imam Shafin Arabic and Islamic Faculty understand the questions. His proposal was accepted. 

 Dr. Abdurazak is the HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis focal point in Comoros. He explained in his presentation that the viral hepatitis was discovered and described in the time of Hippocrates 300 BC (before the Christ era). ‘‘There are A, B, C, D, E hepatitis, but B and C hepatitis are the most dangerous as they can infect the liver, develop a cancer and cause death’’ he said.  According to WHO, 2 billion people are infected worldwide and more than 2 million die every year, especially in the underdeveloped countries.  160 people use syringe drug in Comoros. 

 Since 2010, viral hepatitis B and C have become a major problem just after HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The two viral diseases have infected 325 million people worldwide, says a WHO 2017 report.  Hepatitis B is common in Africa and many other poor countries. It is mainly transmitted through blood contamination or sexual relations without the use of condoms. For example, a pregnant woman who is infected can transmit the viral hepatitis to her baby. Hepatitis C is transmitted via drug injection by using syringes, especially in the industrialized countries.  As there is not affordable vaccine for hepatitis, preventive actions such as sexual abstinence, fidelity and screening test are the only ways to stay safe and avoid caching the virus, the doctor concluded.   

Chami Mouzawar, contributing writer, 12 May 2022