Battling Hepatitis B amid high prevalence and vaccine shortage

When Florence Kiprono, a resident of Marigat in Baringo South, lost more than four neighbours to Hepatitis B in 2014, she decided to get vaccinated against the virus.

The 56-year-old mother of five went to Marigat Sub-County Hospital, where medics advised that she had to be tested first to ascertain if she was reactive to the virus or not.

After the test, she was instructed to wait as others were ushered into the vaccination room.

She noticed that the doctor was stealing glances at her while looking at her test results, and this worried her.

“I panicked, sensing that all was not well as I had expected. The doctor called me in and took me through counseling before breaking the news that I had tested positive for Hepatitis B - an infection of the liver caused by the Hepatitis B virus that puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer-,” she recalls.

The news hit her like a thunderbolt.

Ms Kiprono explains her panic, recalling rumours that the disease was contracted through witchcraft. She wondered who had bewitched her and for what reason.

“I was given drugs after counseling. The doctor emphasised that I should not default on the drugs lest the disease ate into my liver,” she told Healthy Nation.

“I knew that the disease was also spread through sweat and my worst nightmare was how I would interact with my children, let alone breaking the news to them.”

Even worse, she learnt that she would take the drugs for several years.

“I did not want to divulge the news to anyone, not even my children,” she says.

For the next three years, she took the drugs religiously, without the knowledge of anyone in her family.

It wasn’t until 2017 that she gathered the courage to ask her doctor at Marigat hospital, where she collected her drugs, how she contracted the disease.

However, the doctor was categorical that it did not matter how she contracted the disease, but she had to continue taking her medication as prescribed.

Four years later, Ms Kiprono took her five children for tests at the facility and they all turned negative.

“I was so happy because all along I thought I had infected them and that we would all die. I was taking the medication religiously but with fears that my days were numbered,” she notes.

Her situation worsened when she learned that the drugs she was taking were almost similar to antiretrovirals (ARVs) taken by people living with HIV.

“I wondered how someone with Hepatitis B would take ARVs. I even suspected that I had tested positive for HIV, but the doctor hid the information from me. The stigma of swallowing those drugs drained me for years.”

She says she lost many friends after they got wind that she had tested positive for Hepatitis B, fearing that she would infect them. But with time, she accepted the situation and decided to follow the doctor’s advice.

 “I normally go for regular check-ups in Marigat and in April this year, I was told that my viral load had reduced. Luckily, my liver had not been affected. I still take the drugs and I am optimistic that I will get healed soon so I can get vaccinated against the virus,” she says.

In the neighbouring Maji Moto village in Mogotio, which is among the hotspot areas in the region, Joseph Kemboi tested positive for Hepatitis B in 2017.

 “Several people in my village had died over the years after testing positive for Hepatitis B. The devolved unit conducted a mass screening and I was later referred to Marigat Sub-County Hospital, where I was informed that I was infected.

“I was given drugs at the facility and  told to take them for some time until I test negative for the disease. I had challenges because one has to eat well before swallowing the drugs, yet I was also grappling with food shortage due to a dry spell that had led to crop failure in the arid area,” he adds.

He explains that testing positive did not come as a surprise to him because he had symptoms that were similar to those of the virus.

“I used to sweat so much at night, had general body weakness and regular headaches. My fears were confirmed when I went for the test. However, I just accepted the situation and took the drugs as prescribed.”

 “I have taken the drugs for close to seven years now and I thank God that I am getting better now. I look forward to the day I will test negative so I can go for vaccination,” notes Mr Kemboi.

Baringo Health Executive Solomon Sirma said the prevalence of Hepatitis B in the region stands at more than 10 per cent against the eight per cent national rate.

“We are not doing well as a county and the worst hit areas are Baringo Central and Baringo South. We have been screening people in the hotspot areas but unfortunately, there is a shortage of vaccines and they are not stocked at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority either. 

“The vaccines are also expensive. A jab costs Sh250 and one needs three to complete the dose and for this case, given the scarce resources, we will not be able to reach the targeted number of people,” said Dr Sirma.

He added: “We are now planning to buy the jabs and vaccinate the target population. We have identified a supplier but unfortunately, we don’t have funds, but we are planning to budget for it.”

National Aids and STI Control Programme Director Nazila Ganatra cited lack of awareness about Hepatitis, noting that they are targeting to set up a unit that solely focuses on viral Hepatitis through the Ministry of Health.

“Our target is to eliminate Hepatitis. Globally, we have more than 253 million cases of Hepatitis B. In Kenya, we have 1.9 million cases,” said Dr Ganatra.

She cited Baringo County as among the three counties with a high prevalence of Hepatitis B, which stands at 11.9 per cent, Turkana 16.8 per cent and Migori at 10 per cent.

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