Abiriu primary health care centre in Western Lakes state. Credit/theguardian.com

The Minister of Health in Western Lakes State has revealed that there is an increase in cases of hepatitis B in the state.

According to the State Minister of Health, the state witnessed an increase of over 160 cases between September and October alone.

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease.

The virus is most commonly transmitted from mother to child during birth and delivery, as well as through contact with blood or other body fluids.

“The cases of hepatitis B are increasing because in September we got 92 cases and in October we had 262 cases,” Dr. Chol revealed.

He told Eye Radio that some cases were not reported to the hospital but there were reports of deaths as a result of the viral disease.

“That is an alarming indication that the cases are incredibly increasing.”

The World Health Organization estimates that in 2015, 257 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B infection globally.

In 2015, hepatitis B resulted in an estimated 887, 000 deaths, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

 Hepatitis B can be prevented by vaccines that are safe, available and effective.