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May 19 is World Hepatitis Day

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17 May 2010

May 19, 2010 is WORLD HEPATITIS DAY and the World Hepatitis Alliance and Hepatology Society of the Philippines in cooperation with Davao Doctors Hospital and Southern Philippines Medical Center (formerly Davao Medical Center) are urging everyone to learn what can be done to prevent the spread of hepatitis. Many forms of hepatitis are preventable and many more can be treated if detected early.

World Hepatitis Day aims to raise awareness of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C to improve knowledge and understanding of these preventable diseases and to erase the stigma often associated with these diseases. It also aims to extend the political support to levels seen in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

The long-term objective of the World Hepatitis Day campaign is to prevent new infections and to deliver real improvements in health outcomes for people living with Hepatitis B and C.

One in 12 people worldwide is living with either chronic Hepatitis B or C. While this is far higher than the prevalence of HIV or any cancer, awareness is inexplicably low and the majority of those infected are unaware. The World Hepatitis Alliance hopes that World Hepatitis Day will prompt people to think about the huge scale of viral hepatitis infection globally , about whether they may be at risk (and if so, to get tested) and also about how to avoid becoming infected.

World hepatitis Day is part of an ongoing campaign launched by the World Hepatitis Alliance, an organization of 280 patient groups from more than 60 countries all over the world. Together with governments, non-governmental organizations and associations, health care professionals, companies and thousands of individuals and patient groups World Hepatitis Day Activities are coordinated to increase awareness of Hepatitis B and C.

The Hepatology Society of the Philippines is a national organization committed to the study of the liver with the basic goals of promoting research and education that will address the development of improved strategies for the control and treatment as well as supporting health care and community service development towards improving the diagnosis, treatment, and control of liver diseases.

The HSP fully supports World Hepatitis Day on May 19, 2010 with several activities planned to be held during that day in major cities in the Philippines.

Lay fora on Viral Hepatitis B and C focusing on what is viral hepatitis, how do you get viral hepatitis, who are at risk for viral hepatitis B and C , how to prevent and treat these diseases will be held in Metro Manila, Bacolod, Cebu, and in Davao.

The schedule of the lay forum in Davao Doctors Hospital will be from 8 to 10 am at the DDH OPD and the lay forum at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (formerly Davao Medical Center) will be from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the OPD.

Davao Doctors Hospital will be offering a 10% discount on all HBsAg screening tests done that day. (Press Release)

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