Is Hepatitis B infection a serious problem in India?
In India it is found that one in every twenty persons in our population is a Hepatitis B virus ‘carrier’. Accidental contacts with such ‘carriers’, who are unaware about the virus they are harbouring, can transmit the virus to others. Hence a constant risk of acquiring this infection exists in our country. But there is a definite group of individuals who are at high-risk. They are: At high-risk due to daily practice: · All Medical Personnel. · All Para-medical personnel such as Nurses, Staff members of pathological labs, Blood banks, Dialysis units and Cancer units. At high-risk due to sexual and social habits: · Heterosexuals with multiple sex partners, homosexuals and prostitutes. · Intravenous drug users. · People whom have themselves tattooed. · People who play contact sports. At high-risk due to illness: · Patients like Thalassemics and Haemophiliacs who receive blood or blood related products. · Patients on dialysis. Others · Infants born to Hepatitis B infected mothers. · Family
