Test carefully for Hepatitis B and C

Star: PETALING JAYA: With liver cancer being among the top 10 cancers afflicting Malaysian men, testing for Hepatitis B and C should be done diligently here, said Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican.
“It is very important because chronic hepatitis B and C can develop into liver cancer. There is vaccination for Hepatitis B, which can prevent Hepatitis B from occurring,” he said.
Dr Ismail said there was no vaccination for Hepatitis C.
Dr Ismail, who is also the Malaysian Liver Foundation president, clarified a Bernama report, which quoted him as saying that Hepatitis C saw an increase after blood screening was done in the country.
“The increase in Hepatitis C is not due to foreign workers screening but greater awareness among the people. They did not know about the disease or testing themselves. It was a new disease.
“Now, more people are going to get the tests done,” he added.
He also said that patients who received blood transfusions before 1995 were advised to undergo a blood test to detect whether they had Hepatitis C and not 1997 as stated in the report.