Cost Assessment of Hepatitis B Virus-related
Hepatitis in Bangladesh
Muntasir Chaudhury, Mohammad H Uddin, Sheikh M Noor-E Alam, Mohammad A Rahim
Citation Information :
Chaudhury M, H Uddin M, M Noor-E Alam S, A Rahim M. Cost Assessment of Hepatitis B Virus-related Hepatitis in Bangladesh. Euroasian J Hepatogastroenterol 2016; 6 (2):163-166.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is endemic in Bangladesh. Studies have indicated that HBV is the
major cause of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), liver cirrhosis (LC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
in this country. Recently, HBV-related acute on chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) has emerged as a
serious and emergent medical problem in Bangladesh. To develop a strategy to address HBV-related
problems and their influence on health care delivery system, proper understandings about extent of
problems and nature of economic burden should be explored. Conservative estimates indicate that
about 50 million or more of Bangladeshi have been infected by HBV at some point of their life. Out of
the total Bangladeshi population, about 2 to 5% is chronically infected with HBV (about 3–8 million)
(1–6%) and considerable number of these patients will eventually develop LC, HCC, or ACLF (about
1 million). Although proper statistics is lacking, it is estimated that HBV-related liver diseases account
for a majority of hospital admissions and around 20,000 deaths every year in Bangladesh. In addition,
complex clinical features of HBV-related liver diseases have been documented in Bangladesh
that show similarity and differences from HBV infection in other Asian countries. Although vaccination
against HBV and containment of horizontal transmission are in progress in Bangladesh for reduction of
new HBV infection, there is a lack of national strategy for treatment of millions of chronic HBV-infected
subjects. This paper will provide an insight regarding the economic impact of HBV in Bangladesh that
may act as a primary impetus for developing national HBV eradication program, a goal set by World
Health Organization (WHO).
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