World Hepatitis Day: Survivor speaks out

Uganda joins the rest of the world today to mark the World Hepatitis Day that seeks to raise global awareness of a disease that kills 1.34 million people globally per year. Hepatitis is characterised by inflammation of the liver.

As a way of commemorating the day’s theme: “Hepatitis can’t wait”, Daily Monitor spoke to a survivor, Mr Emmanuel Lutamaguzi, 26, to understand what it means to live with Hepatitis B.

Lutamaguzi was diagnosed with Hepatitis B in 2017 while undergoing comprehensive tests at health facility in Kampala.
“The results were needed for a work trip I was going for in Dubai [United Arab Emirates],” Mr Lutamaguzi tells Daily Monitor.

“Upon learning about my status, I got very scared, but after calling a section of family members and friends, they calmed me down and gave assurance that everything was going to be fine.”

The sudden turnout of events eventually led to the cancellation of the trip. Later, he did a second test at Norvik Hospital in Kampala, which also confirmed the diagnosis.

Mr Lutamaguzi did not suspect to have Hepatitis B as he hardly showed any major signs and symptoms.
“There were times, however, I passed dark-coloured urine, felt fatigue and body pains. These were not severe, though,” he says.

After the second confirmatory test, Mr Lutamaguzi underwent further tests to ascertain the progress of the disease.
“These tests were costly,” he says.

“I later discovered that some of the doctors who were urging me to do different tests were only after getting money. So, this forced me to conduct my own research on Hepatitis B and this was how I discovered that some of their expensive tests were being offered by government health facilities free of charge.”

One of the tests conducted free of charge by government health facilities is the viral load test. 

Mr Lutamaguzi says some private health facilities charge between Shs200,000 and Shs300,000 for the same test.
Mr Lutamaguzi got in touch with a doctor, who thoroughly reviewed his medical documents and informed him that he actually did not need medication as his case was not severe.

“He told me medication and other forms of treatment would probably be required if the condition worsened, but in these earlier years, these were not important,” he says.

Regardless, Mr Lutamaguzi was advised to continue doing specific tests every six months as a way of monitoring the progress of the disease in his body. 

Some of these tests include the viral load test, liver function test, Complete Blood Count (CBC), and scans to assess the physical appearance of the abdomen. 

He was also advised to be more mindful of his nutrition habits.
“I was advised to stop eating toxic foods and drinks that could easily cause liver inflammation.  So, I stopped drinking alcohol, eating junk and oily foods because these all make it harder for the liver to function,” he notes.

“After giving up alcohol, I made it a point to take a lot of water every day to help in continuously flushing out of body toxins,” he adds.

Today, Mr Lutamuguzi does not mind talking about his condition.
“In the beginning, I would hear all kinds of negative stories about my health. In the end, I opted to come out and openly talk about my diagnosis, a move which was helpful in putting all the false rumours to rest,” he says.

Mr Lutamaguzi advises others to know their statuses by testing and after finding out they are negative, they should vaccinate against the disease.

“If you find out you are positive, seek treatment, and counselling,” he advises.

What is Hepatitis B?

Dr Aldine Jamadah Lutakome, medical clinical officer at Masters Medical Centre in Kampala, explains: “This particular type of Hepatitis occurs after the inflammation of the liver caused by a Hepatitis B virus (HBV). If the condition is not attended to, it can cause complications like liver cirrhosis (scars on the liver), which can later turn into liver cancer, eventually becoming fatal. Sometimes in the chronic stage, the signs and symptoms do not show up.  However, in the acute stage, these signs and symptoms show right away, including jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin), abdominal pain, fatigue, nausea, itching of the skin, among others. Treatment is accorded depending on tests to determine whether the patient is eligible for treatment or not.”