Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Health Ministry said more than 60 percent of the country’s population remains susceptible to hepatitis B, despite a national immunisation program that has sharply reduced transmission among children.

Health Ministry Hepatitis Expert Committee chairman Dr David H Muljono said in Jakarta on Monday that Indonesia is undergoing an epidemiological shift in hepatitis B, with infections declining among younger generations but remaining a concern among adults.

“Transmission among generations that received immunisation as infants has declined drastically, while the disease burden among adults still reflects the high level of transmission that occurred before universal immunisation was introduced,” he said.

Data from Indonesia’s 2023 Health Survey showed that the prevalence of active hepatitis B among children aged 1-4 was 0.1 percent, well below the World Health Organization’s target for eliminating hepatitis B among children.

Muljono said the result demonstrated the effectiveness of Indonesia’s hepatitis B immunisation programme.

Across all age groups, however, the prevalence of active hepatitis B stood at 2.4 percent, while 19.7 percent of the population showed evidence of previous exposure to the virus.

Only 24.3 percent had protective antibodies against hepatitis B, the survey showed.

He said Indonesia’s prevention strategy should therefore extend beyond infant immunisation to include older age groups, including through catch-up vaccination.

The country also needs to expand risk-based screening, improve access to laboratory testing and early diagnosis, and increase access to treatment to prevent hepatitis B from progressing to cirrhosis and liver cancer, he said.

Muljono said updated WHO guidelines had expanded recommendations for antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis B, allowing more patients to receive treatment before developing serious complications.

“Indonesia has demonstrated that eliminating hepatitis is not an impossible goal. Achieving the WHO target among children shows that evidence-based policies can change the epidemiology of a disease within a generation,” he said.

Pewarta: Mecca Yumna, Kuntum Khaira
Editor : Vicki Febrianto
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