Hepatitis A Should Be Designated as Notifiable Disease and Essential Vaccination Target

As the number of domestic hepatitis A patients surges every year, health authorities have allocated no budget for treatment drugs and vaccines, and even statistics on cases rely only on sample surveys, raising concerns that the situation assessment and response are inadequate.

According to an analysis of hepatitis A trends by the Disease Control and Prevention Agency presented on the 11th by Rep. Jung Mi-gyeong (Grand National Party, Gwonseon District, Suwon) of the National Assembly's Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Committee, hepatitis A patients, which numbered 355 in 2004, exceeded 2,000 in 2006 and surged to 11,146 as of the end of July this year.

In particular, hepatitis A cases in Gyeonggi Province this year reached 4,116, followed by Seoul with 3,590 cases and Incheon with 1,448 cases, concentrating patient occurrences in the capital region.

Additionally, according to the Korean Medical Association's Task Force on Acute Hepatitis A, there have been five deaths from fulminant hepatitis in the first half of this year alone, and 11 cases of liver transplantation.

The problem is that while hepatitis A has no fundamental treatment and patients must be treated with rest or dietary management, health authorities have allocated no budget for treatment drugs and vaccine support.

Moreover, statistics on patient cases rely only on sample surveys from major hospitals, and patients are required to report to their local health centers within seven days of onset, making it difficult to regard these as accurate statistics.

Rep. Jung Mi-gyeong pointed out that "hepatitis A, which is currently causing vaccine shortages, is highly contagious and has no effective treatment method, yet health authorities are placing all the burden on patients."

She further stated, "Health authorities should not rely solely on case statistics, but at minimum should classify hepatitis A as a notifiable disease or designate it as a national essential vaccination target to respond promptly."