Bahrain’s health ministry started Saturday a campaign aimed at reducing and eventually eliminating the prevalence of hepatitis B among infants and children in the Gulf state, reported the Bahrain Tribune newspaper.
Manager of the Expanded Program on Immunization in the ministry, Muna Al Mousawi, said the drive aims to also reduce the number of hepatitis B cases and carriers among children less than 15 years old by 20 percent by the year 2005.
“In this way, we will be able to monitor and evaluate the surveillance system for Hepatitis B and will also be able to look at the prenatal hepatitis B program for pregnant women,” Muna told the Tribune.
“With this program in place, we also intend to increase the vaccination coverage among children and promote health education in order to increase public awareness of its impact, mode of transmission and measures for prevention,” she said.
She said as part of the activities that are being conducted on a continuous basis, there will be training of medical staff, educational materials will be distributed and all pregnant women will be screened for Hepatitis B – Albawaba.com
