10 Philippine Showbiz Today
April 22 - May 7, 2018
Jan. 22-Feb.7, 2015
Canadian Liver Foundation will hold free screening
The Canadian Liver Foundation
of BC (CLF) will hold a free screening
for Hepatitis B for all Canadians with
Filipino and Chinese descent in April
and May. The forum features doctors
and medical practitioners in the field
of liver diseases to inform the public
about the dangers of Hepatitis B and
C and how a simple screening can
help manage symptoms. There will
also be a forum for the future of liver
transplants, chronic pancreatitis, and
primary billary cholangitis (formerly
known as liver cirrhosis) A dietitian will
also discuss healthy diet for people
with Hepatitis, Fatty Liver disease,
which is prevalent in Filipinos, as
well as managing Diabetes and
other illnesses of the kidneys and
liver. There will also be a forum on
the BC Drug Benefit Program and
how you can avail of the medication
for treating Hepatitis B, as MSP does
not cover Hep B screening.
In an interview with CLF President
Dr. Francis Ho, BC Chapter Head of
the CLF, he said that the Hepatitis B
is hyper-endemic in the Philippines
with a rate of 16.7% in the adult
population over age 20 and due to the
fact that although an immunization
program was introduced in 1992
universal vaccination has not been
achieved.
“The Filipinos and Chinese have
the highest rate of Hep B in Asia,
and so we want to make sure this
is addressed.” Dr. Ho also said that
the government MSP does not cover
Hep B screening.
The Canadian Liver Foundation,
with their physician leads in this
campaign, Dr. Francis Ho, Dr. Peter
Kwan and Dr. Eric Yoshida, have the
goal of spreading the word about
Hepatitis B specifically to the Chinese
and Filipino people as three quarters
of the 240-400 million carriers of
Hepatitis B reside in Asia/Southeast
Asia.
Hepatitis B is a ‘silent killer’. It is
a major health issue among Chinese
and the Filipino. The disease does
not exhibit any signs or symptoms for
up to 20-30 years. When Hepatitis B
is left untreated, it can lead to liver
failure, liver cancer and death.
The Hep B campaign offers free
blood screening. Its purpose is to
investigate the prevalence of Hepatitis
B Carriers who are unaware of their
carrier status in Greater Vancouver
and to promote early diagnosis which
will lead to early treatment thereby
saving lives.
Participants consenting to have
their blood drawn will be con