O.K ( @OkyeameKwamegh ) Saves Over 1,000 Ghanaians From Hepatitis B Infection

All over the world, July 28 of every year is observed as World Hepatitis Day and as part of his social responsibility as a music icon, award-winning rapper, singer and songwriter Okyeame Kwame has offered Ghanaians the opportunity to be screened for Hepatitis B free of charge.

Hepatitis B is an infectious inflammatory illness of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that affects hominoidea, including humans. Originally known as "serum hepatitis”, the disease has caused epidemics in parts of Asia and Africa, and it is endemic in China. About a third of the world population has been infected at one point in their lives, including 350 million who are chronic carriers.


In an exclusive interview with your evergreen Flex Newspaper, Okyeame Kwame revealed that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the prevalence rate for Hepatitis B in Ghana is 15 percent. This means that one out of every six Ghanaian is exposed to the virus.
  

In a bid to educate Ghanaians on Hepatitis B and help curb the deadly disease, Okyeame Kwame, on Saturday July 27, 2013 organized a free Hepatitis B screening and counseling for the general public at the Obra Spot near Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.

 Okyeame Kwame noted that the Free Hepatitis B Screening was very successful  as over a thousand people were screened  and counseled on Hepatitis B. He also stressed that in as much as the whole screening was to have started at about 10am, many people started forming queues at the Obra Spot as early as 4:00am.

Okyeame Kwame confirmed that next year's screening would see some improvements as people who are diagnosed not to have contracted Hepatitis B, would be given free vaccination to ensure that they don't stand the risk of contracting the disease in the near future.

The Free Hepatitis B screening by Okyeame Kwame is organized yearly with support from MDS-Lancet Laboratories and MTN Ghana Foundation.

BY: Ebenezer Narh Affum