The Hepatitis Alliance of Ghana (HAG) has vehemently contested statements attributed to Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa regarding the transmission of hepatitis B, asserting that such remarks could exacerbate the stigma surrounding the disease.
The former Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) is reported to have said that communal eating from one bowl can help spread Hepatitis B.
He said that eating soupy foods such as fufu, omo tuo or tuo zaafi together from one bowl can make people “swallow saliva” from each other.
His explanation is that people put their hands in their mouth, and dip them in the soup and by such behaviour, they can mix saliva with the soup and if they have Hepatitis B, they can spread it.
In a sharp response, the HAG criticised the renowned Professor stressing the need for accurate information to combat misconceptions about the disease.
“We are compelled to address the misinformation in the aforementioned publication, which may potentially fuel hepatitis B stigma in our socio-cultural environment,” stated Prof Charles Ampong Adjei, the Executive Director of Hepatitis Alliance of Ghana.
According to the Alliance, the primary mode of hepatitis B transmission in African countries, including Ghana, is from an infected mother to her child at birth or through exposure to infected blood.
They stressed that transmission through activities like sharing food, as suggested in the publication, is not supported by epidemiological evidence.
“As a hepatitis community, we are concerned that such a remark by Professor Akosa could potentially reinforce the deeply ingrained misconceptions about the infection and further undermine the ongoing efforts of civil society organizations to address hepatitis B stigma in Ghana,” the statement emphasized.
The Alliance called for Professor Akosa to provide local epidemiological evidence to support his statements, highlighting the importance of accurate information in public health discourse.
Read the full statement below:
The Hepatitis Alliance of Ghana’s attention has been drawn to a publication by GhanaWeb on 28th May 2024 titled “Eating fufu, Omo tuo, tuo zaafi together from one bowl spreads hepatitis B” purportedly made by Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa. We are compelled to address the misinformation in the aforementioned publication, which may potentially fuel hepatitis B stigma in our socio-cultural environment.
The fact remains that the most common route of hepatitis B transmission in African countries, including Ghana, is from an infected mother to her child at birth (perinatal transmission) or through horizontal transmission (exposure to infected blood). The likelihood of acquiring hepatitis B infection in adulthood is minimal, with evidence showing that only 5% of adults exposed to the hepatitis B virus develop chronic infection.
Although hepatitis B virus has been identified in bodily fluids such as saliva, there is no evidence of transmission through exposure to these fluids in the absence of blood. , ’ , .
As hepatitis community, we are concerned that such a remark by Professor Akosa could potentially reinforce the deeply ingrained misconceptions about the infection and further undermine the ongoing efforts of civil society organisations to address hepatitis B stigma in Ghana. We would appreciate if Professor Akosa could provide local epidemiological evidence/data to support his statement.
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SOURCE: DAILY MAIL GH
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