July 24, 2013
Hepatitis test warning for Māori
With world hepatitis day coming up, the Hepatitis Foundation is urging people to get tested to see whether they have the liver-damaging disease.
Immunisation programmes since the 1980s have cut down the incidence, but the foundation estimates there may be more than 6000 Māori among the 100,000 New Zealanders living with undiagnosed chronic hepatitis B.
It urges anyone over 25 years who is of Māori, Pacific Island, or Asian ethnicity to get tested.
Programme manager Susan Hay says it can be contracted from the mother at birth, through playground scuffles as children, or through living with people with the disease.
"There are a few who have chronic hepatitis B and not know about it. It's not until later in life that they might have liver failure or liver cancer or even cirrhosis and that's when things start to turn to custard for them so it's important to get tested for hepatitis B. Then you can have regular follow up and know if hepatitis is causing your liver any problems," she says.
Because hepatitis B is not curable, people with it need regular checks to ensure it is not flaring up and causing liver damage.
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