Chronic hepatitis B is present in one of 10 Filipinos, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is not easy to diagnose because symptoms present few to none at all. It cannot be left undiagnosed because it may pose additional health risks such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. In 2019, the WHO recorded 820,000 hepatitis B-related deaths due to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Currently, there is no cure for Hepatitis B but it can be managed with help from viral load monitoring. People with hepatitis B undergo treatment management wherein immune modulator drugs and antiviral drugs are used to suppress virus replication. They are monitored to confirm if patients are responding to the treatment well using tests like the Xpert HBV Viral Load test.
Xpert HBV Viral Load, a real-time PCR test for monitoring Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), is capable of reducing complexity of testing and delivering accurate results. It allows continuous sample loading, which eliminates the need for batching, and allows emergency testing. The test can also detect and quantify HBV DNA comparably well as with reference assay.
Hepatitis B is one of the most devastating diseases, yet it is also one of the most preventable and treatable. Dr. Wendell Z. Espinosa, president of the Hepatology Society of the Philippines, explains in this video that in order to eliminate hepatitis by 2030, hepatitis care must be simplified and made accessible to all.
References:
- World Health Organization. PH must act to eliminate hepatitis. 27 July 2019. https://bit.ly/3ukQddi
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What is Viral Hepatitis? Accessed April 2022 https://bit.ly/38CA0rx
- World Health Organization. Globocan 2020 fact sheet. Accessed April 2022. https://bit.ly/3K5Y5o9
- World Health Organization. Hepatitis B fact sheet. 27 Jul 2021. https://bit.ly/3urpewE
- Yellow Warriors Society Philippines, Inc. About Viral Hepatitis. Accessed June 2022. https://bit.ly/3xwj3I5
- Uceda Renteria, S., Greco, L., Loglio, A., Lunghi, G., Lampertico, P. (2019). THU-221-Xpert HBV VL, simplifying HBV viral load testing and disease management. Journal of Hepatology. 70. e262. 10.1016/S0618-8278(19)30494-3.
- Auzin, AM, Slavenburg, S., Peters, C., Boland, G., Rahamat-Langendoen, J., Melchers, WJG, Schuurman, R. Rapid, random-access, and quantification of hepatitis B virus using the Cepheid Xpert HBV viral load assay. J Med Virol. 2021 Jun;93(6):3999-4003. doi: 10.1002/jmv.26392. Epub 2020 Aug 25. PMID: 32761911; PMCID: PMC8247333.