Four Aboriginal areas with higher hepatitis C prevalence rates have been chosen to receive full screening and treatment services, with the goal of eliminating the disease in the selected areas, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s National Hepatitis C Flagship Project Office said yesterday.
Chronic liver disease is the third leading cause of death in Aborigines, while liver and bile duct cancers are the second leading cause, the office said, citing Council of Indigenous Peoples data.
Hepatitis B and C infection and excessive drinking are major risk factors for chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer, it said.
Luckily, hepatitis C can be cured with medication and the National Health Insurance program last year began covering treatments for stage 3 liver fibrosis, and trials have shown that the cure rate for people who complete the treatment regimens is as high as 97 percent, it said.
However, the percentage of people who receive treatment for hepatitis C in Aboriginal areas is relatively low, likely because of insufficient medical resources and inconvenient transportation from remote areas, as well as potentially lower health awareness, it added.
The ministry collaborated with local health bureaus, healthcare facilities, academics, civil groups and the private sector to launch the Aboriginal Regions Hepatitis C Complete Cure Project to improve hepatitis C prevention and treatment in selected regions.
The four regions chosen in August for the first phase of the project are Chiayi County’s Alishan Township (阿里山), Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) and Hualien County’s Hsiulin Village (秀林) and Jhuosi Township (卓溪), it said.
An integrated service model that includes prevention, screening and treatment has been implemented, the office added.
Local health bureaus have made an inventory of people who have been screened or diagnosed with hepatitis C to avoid repeated screenings, to help refer people who have been diagnosed, but have not received treatment, and to arrange screenings for those who have not yet had a checkup, it said.
So far, medical teams have visited nearly 1,000 people who have received screenings, conducted checkups on more than 1,000 people who had never been screened before and are administering medication to about 70 people with hepatitis C, it said.
The hepatitis C virus is transmitted through exposure to infected blood, including bodily fluids that contain blood, the office said, adding that as there is no vaccination for the virus, people should practice safe sex, sterilize equipment used for tattooing and piercing, and avoid sharing needles, razors and toothbrushes.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS