Rotary & Chennai Liver Foundation Launches "A Million Hepatitis Vaccination" to eradicate Hepatitis

Chennai, July 26, 2022: Rtn.Jennifer Jones, President, Rotary International and Dr.R.P.Shanmugam, Founder, Chennai Liver Foundation  today jointly launched "A Million Hepatitis Vaccination" drive to eradicate Hepatitis.

Youtube Video👇👇

It has been proposed to begin with a target of 100 000 doses of hepatitis B vaccinations and then scale it up to 1 million doses in a phased manner. Special Camps will be conducted for this vaccination drive. Collaboration with the government will give access to all the primary health centre and district general hospitals where the vaccine will be given free of cost to adults.

(L to R) DG Rtn.Dr.Nandakumar, District Governor, RI 3232; Rtn.Jennifer Jones, President, Rotary International; Dr.R.P.Shanmugam, Founder, Chennai Liver Foundation; Rtn.Venkatesh, Director, Rotary International; Rtn.Dr.Vivekanandan, Managing Trustee, Chennai Liver Foundation

This will be the first ever mega launch by Rotary and Chennai Liver Foundation. It has to be said Rotary has played a pivotal role in elimination of Polio and such initiatives will definitely help us achieve in elimination of Viral hepatitis as mandated by the WHO.

The hepatitis B Vaccination for new-born's is about 50-60% and there is no policy as of now to vaccinate adults, except that in the urban population the pregnant mothers are being vaccinated.

DG Rtn.Dr.Nandakumar, District Governor, RI 3232 spoke about the launch and Rtn.Venkatesh, Director, Rotary International  introduced Rtn.Jennifer Jones, President, Rotary International.

Chennai Liver Foundation has also initiated #NoHepMovement for mobilisation & community outreach.

Rtn.Dr.Vivekanandan, Managing Trustee, Chennai Liver Foundation delivered vote of thanks.

About Viral Hepatitis: Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of death globally, accounting for more deaths per year

than HIV/AIDS or malaria. Despite killing 1.4 million people every year, the awareness levels has been dismally low. 290 million people are completely unaware they are living with the virus. This puts them at risk of developing fatal liver disease or unknowingly passing the virus on to others.

Viral hepatitis is increasingly being recognized as a public health problem in India.

Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) and Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) are important causes of acute viral hepatitis and Acute Liver Failure (ALF). Due to paucity of data, the exact burden of disease for the country is not established. However, available literature indicates a wide range and suggests that HAV is responsible for 10-30% of acute hepatitis and 5-15% of acute liver failure cases in India. It is further reported that HEV accounts for 10-40% of acute hepatitis and 15-45% of acute liver failure.

Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) positivity in the general population ranges from 1.1% to 12.2%, with an average prevalence of 3-4%. Anti-Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody prevalence in the general population is estimated to be between 0.09-15%. Based on some regional level studies, it is estimated that in India, approximately 40 million people are chronically infected with Hepatitis B and 6-12 million people with Hepatitis C. Chronic HBV infection accounts for 40% of Hepato-cellular Carcinoma (HCC) and 20-30% cases of cirrhosis in India. Chronic HCV infection accounts for 12-32% of HCC and 12-20% of cirrhosis.

In 2016, the WHO Global Health Sector Strategy (GHSS) on viral hepatitis provided the initial roadmap for the elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health problem by 2030-a 90% reduction in incidence and a 65% reduction in mortality by 2030, compared with a 2015 baseline. This new )guidance provides a framework for countries to measure their efforts in reducing both new infections of hepatitis B and C and deaths from liver cirrhosis and cancer alongside reaching high coverage (>90%) of programme interventions to ultimately confirm attainment of elimination.

These include preventative interventions, such as hepatitis B infant and birth dose vaccination, blood and injection safety and harm reduction, as well as HBV/HCV testing and treatment, and must be maintained for 2 years. This interim guidance aims to promote a standardized public health approach for viral hepatitis elimination and recognizes regional and country context and burden of viral hepatitis B and C.

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