Epidemiologists Call The Spread Of Acute Hepatitis In Indonesia More Vulnerable, Why?

Illustration/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - An epidemiologist from Griffith University Australia, Dicky Budiman stated that the spread of acute hepatitis in Indonesia has the potential to be more vulnerable than other countries.

Dicky said that Indonesia is a country with diverse biodiversity and society. The types of viruses that are spread also follow this diversity.

Plus, the population of children in Indonesia is sufficient. Sanitation problems in Indonesia still need to be a concern. Not to mention, Indonesia still has 24.4 percent stunting cases in 2021.

"We are prone to the spread of acute hepatitis because the number of our children is large, or more than 30 million children under the age of 5 years. We are also talking about stunting, nutrition, immunity, germs, environmental sanitation, and behavioral problems," said Dicky when contacted, Sunday, May 8th.

Therefore, Dicky emphasized that epidemiological investigation efforts to contain the spread of the disease, which was newly designated as an extraordinary event, would take time.

"To find out the source of the disease and how it is transmitted, it takes time. This requires an epidemiological investigation. Of course, epidemiology does not work alone. In the context of cases like this, there needs to be hepatitis specialists, pediatricians, microbiologists, toxicologists, and hepatology, all kinds of things," explained Dicky.

At this time, Dicky asked the public not to easily conclude what type of acute hepatitis is. Including not rashly linking acute hepatitis to COVID-19 and its vaccine.

"We have to be patient. What is clear is that this is becoming a symptom and whether it is contagious between children, we cannot confirm this yet," said Dicky.

"This means that prevention is much better. Whether it's contagious or not, as long as we don't know it, we must follow the principles of prevention. Do it with the prevention we've understood so far, routine immunization vaccinations, maintaining food hygiene, personal hygiene, then food and drink issues. This has to be kept clean," he added.

For information, the phenomenon of acute hepatitis with no known cause became the world's spotlight after the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) declared it an Extraordinary Event (KLB) on April 15, 2022. WHO received reports of 169 cases in 12 countries, including Indonesia.

In Indonesia, in the last two weeks or until April 30, 2022, it was reported that three pediatric patients died while being treated at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, with suspected acute hepatitis.

Acute hepatitis is inflammation of the liver that occurs suddenly and can get worse quickly. Common symptoms of hepatitis include abdominal pain, jaundice, diarrhea, vomiting, urine discoloration, pale stools, high fever or a history of fever, and is characterized by elevated levels of liver enzymes.