A consultant gastroenterologist and pathologist at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Dr Yusuf Maisuna Abdulkadir has attributed the high spread and fatality rate among Nigerians suffering from hepatitis, a disease of the liver to ignorance. He was quoted by Dailytrust as saying;
"Ignorance of hepatitis, a disease of the liver, is fuelling its spread especially in northern Nigeria. People don’t present early, most people rush to traditional or normal conventional paracetamol before they come to us, by then the situation is already fulminant. Fulminant means the liver has been damaged so much within a short time,”
“Sometimes you see them vomiting, bleeding or having jaundice or becoming unconscious.”
Also speaking, the Minister of Health, Dr. Isaac Adewole said over 20 million Nigerians are living with Hepatitis. He disclosed that though people appear healthy physically, they could be suffering from the disease without knowing. He disclosed that in most cases the disease does not manifest until it's too late causing chronic liver disease, liver cancer and death.
He recommended routine checks, vaccination and avoidance of self-medication as measures to prevent and contain the disease.
