To mark World Hepatitis Day, the World Health Organization issued new guidelines for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B. However, the WHO warns that the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening gains made in eliminating Hepatitis B and C, which cause liver damage and liver cancer.
As quoted in Voice of America, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus discussed the importance of innoculating children to controlling the disease. However, he stated, the road to elimination is made difficult by COVID-19. “Services for prevention, testing and treatment have been disrupted, supply chains are being interrupted, limited financial and human resources are being diverted and the political focus has shifted to containing the pandemic and economic recovery,” Tedros said. “All of which means there is a real risk we could lose the gains we have made.”
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