Kohima, 28 July (MTNews): In Nagaland, 148 out of 5161 persons screened for Hepatitis B have been found seropositive during the period of April to June 2023, while 17 out of 2556 pregnant women also tested positive during the same period.
This was disclosed by the State Nodal Officer, National Viral Hepatitis Control Program, Dr M Nukshisangla Jamir during the observance of World Hepatitis Day in Kohima today.
Dr Jamir also said that, out of 5133 persons that were screened, 194 tested seropositive for Hepatitis C. She also said 13 newborns of the seropositive pregnant women received Hepatitis B Immune Globulin in the same period.
Dr Jamir said that with testing efforts being increased, viral hepatitis is now closely looked at as one of the emerging public health problems, which urgently needs special attention.
As a way forward in tackling the issue, the state nodal officer suggested that they need to scale up its advocacy and sensitization programmes through IEC, training and capacity building, strengthening integration among National Health Programs and Partner organizations, promotion of early registration of all pregnancies and institutional deliveries among others.