Beware of Hepatitis, the ‘silent epidemic’ more deadly than HIV

Kenyans in their millions dread HIV, the infectious virus responsible for Aids. However, the dreaded scourge is being shoved aside by a more lethal virus infecting Kenyans and putting millions of lives at great risk. It is now official that Hepatitis, which primarily attacks the liver causing cancer or liver failure, is three times more infectious than HIV, which was declared a national disaster in Kenya more than a decade ago. As Kenya joins other countries in marking the World Hepatitis Day, there is growing concern that far more people are being infected with the virus than with HIV. Like HIV, strains of Hepatitis are spread through sex, contact with infected blood and medical equipment or transmitted from mother to child during childbirth. Other strains are spread through consuming food or water contaminated by the virus. Medical experts are now worried that many Kenyans are unknowingly carrying the dangerous Hepatitis viruses. And few...