Li Min, Deputy Secretary-General of the Sichuan Red Cross Foundation, was interviewed by the media during the vaccine donation session
March 18th is the National Liver-Love On July 1, the Sichuan Red Cross Foundation joined hands with experts from West China to actively respond to the theme of “Participation of the People, Active Screening, Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment, and Hepatitis Cure”. Hepatitis E, the most neglected viral hepatitis by the public, is called on the public to participate in the promotion of viral hepatitis prevention and treatment through open recruitment. Based on the serious harm of hepatitis E to pregnant women, the Sichuan Red Cross Foundation responded to the Liver Love Day by accepting the donation of hepatitis E vaccine from social enterprises to care for the health of pregnant women.
What is Hepatitis E? As a former “hepatitis” country, after more than ten years of immunization planning and universal prevention and control efforts, hepatitis A and B, which have long endangered my country’s public health, have been well controlled, and the incidence has dropped significantly. However, hepatitis E, which was discovered and named relatively late, has become the most neglected viral hepatitis!
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, about 20 million people in the world are infected with hepatitis E every year, and 3.3 million people are infected. my country is a high-endemic area of hepatitis E. , the reported incidence is increasing year by year. Since 2012, the reported incidence of hepatitis E has continued to exceed that of hepatitis A, ranking first in acute viral hepatitis! Since hepatitis E is officially named, it is mostly sporadic and rarely reported, and the screening and detection rate is extremely low and clinical diagnosis is difficult, resulting in a large number of cases not being reported. Therefore, hepatitis E can be said to be the most underestimated and neglected viral hepatitis.
Hepatitis E is mainly caused by food-borne transmission. Livestock meat, shellfish seafood and take-out from stalls with poor sanitation conditions may cause hepatitis E infection . Many people infected with hepatitis E virus are self-limited, but when some people with low immunity, such as the elderly, patients with basic liver disease, pregnant women, etc., are infected with hepatitis E virus, they may develop severe hepatitis and fulminant liver failure, often causing irreversible effects. serious consequences. Especially pregnant women, infected with hepatitis E can easily become severe and even die.
“Pregnant women infected with hepatitis E can easily lead to liver damage and cholestatic hepatitis, and even severe hepatitis. Obstacles, there is a risk of bleeding during delivery.” Professor Tang Hong, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at West China Hospital, solemnly introduced the harm of hepatitis E infection to pregnant women.
“In addition to the harm to pregnant women, hepatitis E can also lead to miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth and fetal malformation, and some newborns will also experience respiratory distress Therefore, it is not only necessary to avoid contact and consumption of unclean food during pregnancy, but a more direct and effective method is to vaccinate against hepatitis E.” In addition to hepatitis A and B, hepatitis E can also be prevented with vaccines. “It is recommended that women of childbearing age receive hepatitis E vaccine before pregnancy to prevent hepatitis E infection. High-risk groups such as the elderly with weakened immunity and patients with underlying liver diseases can also choose to prevent the harm of hepatitis E by inoculating hepatitis E vaccine.”