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Relaunched: The air up there

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo

AFTER TEMPORARILY shutting down to move to another location, the country’s only flying trapeze school is once again up, bigger and more determined than ever to showcase what the “performance-based sport” is all about.

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How a bird festival changed Balanga City

THERE’S a city in the Philippines where one can see thousands of migratory birds flocking to in December. A few hours drive from Manila is Balanga City in Bataan province, an area considered to have the highest number of migratory birds in the country. In 2012, more than 25,000 birds were counted in one day in Balanga.

The Wild Bird Club of the Philippines is holding its yearly bird watching festival — The Philippine Bird Festival — which started on Dec. 9 and continues until Dec. 11. Now on its 10th year, the festival had several activities such as parades of each municipality’s bird mascot (a migratory bird that is often seen in their area), lectures on environmental issues, discussions on successful models of ecological tourism, bird-watching hikes, and more.

ADRI

The focus of the festivals has always been children. By partnering with schools, the festival brings teachers and their students to the event. This young audience see no birds in cages at the festival because the club wants them to know that birds can exist freely in nature, said Gina Mapua, president of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, said during a press conference on Dec. 2.

The Philippine Bird Festival is held in different areas every year, although this is the second time the festival is coming to Balanga. It was first held in this city in 2009 and Ms. Mapua noted that it was one of their most successful. The 2015 festival has expanded, involving other municipalities in Bataan aside from Balanga City.

Each festival location was not just chosen because it has many migratory birds, but also because of the willingness of the local government to promote conservation and bird watching, said Ms. Mapua.

Jose Enrique Garcia III, Balanga City mayor, said that before the club visited his city, residents just ignored the mudflats, almost seven hectares of worm-rich terrain that is a haven for migratory birds.

The locals responded well to the festival, said Mr. Garcia, who noted that it opened their eyes to the importance of the migratory birds that visit the area. The city started its own yearly bird festival — the Ibong Dayo Festival — celebrated simultaneously with The Philippine Bird Festival. The city was also able to declare the mudflat area a bird sanctuary, created a task force for the area to be protected and promoted, put up an information center and viewing decks at the mudflats, and train tour guides.

Mr. Garcia added that the festival also increased people’s awareness of environmental issues and has helped garner support for the passing of environmentally friendly ordinances like banning certain tricycles models that they discovered to be pollution-generating and implementing no smoking policies.

The festival’s economic impact is still building, said the mayor. From 2010 to 2014, Balanga has seen a 425% increase in tourists, but that came from a small base of less than 30,000. Also, most of these tourists are small children on organized field trips so these young ones don’t really buy much from the city. They are currently thinking of better ways to package the bird festival, maybe even bundling it with cultural and historical destinations in the province like Mount Samat (the World War II shrine on top of a mountain that has a 90-foot cross), Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (a resort featuring restored heritage houses), and the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (now an educational site and bird watching area). — Jasmine Agnes T. Cruz

Climb a mountain, take pics, and share in real time

By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman

MOST FILIPINOS are currently addicted to two things. One, the lure of travel and adventure thanks to promos and sales. Second is the penchant for blow-by-blow documentation and sharing of the travel experiences, whether here or abroad, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Toil and trouble in China over Nobel medicine prize

BEIJING — China’s Tu Youyou collects her country’s first Nobel Prize for medicine this week for extracting an anti-malarial drug from a herb mentioned in a traditional text, but her award has prompted debate over the role of science in the practice.

Ms. Tu derived artemisinin from sweet wormwood, which she found cited in a 4th century traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) document as a fever treatment, developing a crucial weapon in the global fight against the mosquito-borne disease as resistance to other treatments spread.

Traditional medicine is a source of cultural pride in some Chinese quarters, with Beijing planning to expand its provision, and even Premier Li Keqiang seized on the Nobel award, hailing Ms. Tu’s discovery as “a great contribution of TCM to the cause of human health.”

But Nobel committee member Hans Forssberg was adamant: “It’s very important that we are not giving a prize to the traditional medicine,” he said, stressing that the award was only for scientific work that had been inspired by it.

TCM practitioners say her recognition could encourage similar research that may sideline the underpinnings of their theories.

TCM is based on a set of beliefs about human biology, including the existence of a life force, qi, and that illness is the result of “imbalances” between the five elements — fire, water, earth, metal and wood — in the system.

There is no orthodox evidence for such concepts, and the respected scientific magazine Nature has described TCM as “largely just pseudoscience, with no rational mechanism of action for most of its therapies,” calling them an “arcane array of potions and herbal mixtures.”

In contrast, Ms. Tu chemically extracted the active ingredient of a single plant in isolation.

“Many fear that the recent Nobel Prize, which celebrates westernized Chinese medicine, will end up doing more harm than good for authentic traditional medical practice,” said Lan Jirui, who has a booming TCM private practice in Beijing.

Describing her research as a victory for TCM was “reckless,” said the state-run China Daily, arguing that would encourage westernized reforms that ignore traditional theories about the body as a holistic system.

“You should not use Western science to ‘cure’ Chinese medicine,” Mr. Lan said, calling the study of TCM from a rationalist perspective “essentially hopeless.”

“The human body is very complicated — you cannot see it only as a machine,” he added. “The scariest thing is to lack confidence in your own traditions, to allow others to ‘update’ you, and then destroy what you had.”

Rhino horn

Many mainstream medicines were originally derived from plants, and some researchers are looking for active ingredients in TCM components, even though Ms. Tu failed to find other such drugs despite years of efforts.

“It’s good to look into ethnopharmacology,” said Fan Tai-Ping, head of the Chinese Medicine Laboratory at the University of Cambridge.

“Medicine has evolved since the dawn of humanity, and science,” he added. “We need to have evidence. But there’s the possibility now, thanks to science, to begin to discuss this problem, how we can see East and West come together.”

With no standardised guidelines, TCM can offer radically different diagnoses — based on observation and pulse-taking — for the same symptoms.

Similarly, prescriptions are highly variable, made up of multiple herbs, minerals and animal parts — sometimes from endangered species, now officially banned — along with massages, acupuncture and other treatments.

“I think it’d be quite good really to find out what is there in rhino horn instead of throwing it all away,” said Mr. Fan. “Those that have been confiscated can be sent to laboratory and analyzed and synthesized.”

National health

TCM is an enormous industry in China, with a total value in excess of $91 billion in 2013, a third of the total output of the country’s medical industry, according to the official news agency Xinhua.

In recent years the government has upped funding and support, even though most health facilities use orthodox medicine, and national health care guidelines released in May said every county and municipality should seek to have a dedicated TCM hospital by 2020.

“TCM should be China’s solution for improving its medical care,” especially as it was “relatively cheaper than Western medicine,” Wang Guoqiang, director of the State Administration of TCM, told a conference last year.

“TCM is a form of heritage passed down from our ancestors that can offer an instructive approach to modern medical reform,” he added.

But specialists say there is an internal contradiction between the nationalism implicit in such assertions and TCM’s claims of universal applicability.

“It is essential to keep the struggle for cultural identity separate from actual medical practice,” said Volker Scheid, an anthropologist at London’s University of Westminster who has studied TCM for 30 years.

“I’d say 95% of Chinese would think that I cannot be a very good TCM practitioner because I’m not Chinese, but at the same time, China wants to make Chinese medicine global.

“If you want to make it truly global, you have to take it away from China.” — AFP

Ligo Tuna sings sexy

Ads & Ends — Nanette Franco-Diyco

THERE IS A TRULY entertaining and unique television commercial that was launched a fortnight ago to trumpet that Ligo now has great tuna! Ligo, after all these years of solely being identified with sardines, has now expanded its offerings to include tuna.

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Your tablet screen is brought to you with the aid of… carrots

DARMSTADT, GERMANY — This Christmas, as consumers around the world hope Santa will give them a smartphone, TV or tablet computer, few people know that the lowly carrot inspired the liquid crystals at the core of such hi-tech gadgets.

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Making the most of the customer’s time

Getting The Edge In Professional Selling — Terence A. Hockenhull

I HAVE PROBABLY mentioned before that the last couple of years have been an opportunity to put many of the things I have been teaching over the years into real-world practice. Working for an Italian geotechnical company, I take responsibility for a large sales team as well as all of the ancillary activities one expects from a sales and marketing director.

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The games people play

By Jasmine Agnes T. Cruz

Theater
Children’s Plays for Adults (Si Maria Isabella at ang
Guryon ng mga Tala and Games People Play)

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Your weekend guide (December 11, 2015)

EVENTS

Rockwell Primaries will hold the Christmas Village Fair, a Christmas bazaar that will feature exciting villages for handcrafted items, recycled art, fashion pieces, as well as food and activities for visitors, on Dec. 12, 1-4 p.m., at The Vantage at Kapitolyo, 50 West Capitol Dr. Corner United St. Brgy. Kapitolyo Pasig City.

The Rotary District 3810 is hosting the first ever Rotary International District 3810 Christmas Bazaar on Dec. 12-13, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., at the SMX Convention Center Manila, MOA Complex, Pasay City. This event is a fund-raising project of District 3810 which covers Rotary Clubs under Manila, Pasay City, Cavite and Mindoro provinces. Proceeds will go to the District’s End Polio campaign fund and its other community service projects. The bazaar offers unique gift ideas, gadgets, toys, gourmet treats, apparel and accessories and many more.    

EXHIBITS

Kulay Diwa Gallery of Philippine Contemporary Art presents Aaron Bautista’s one-man show, Abstracting Angono’s Rustic Scenes. Mr. Bautista belongs to the third generation of Angono artists and belongs to the Neo-Angono Artists. The exhibit runs until Jan. 7. For details call (632) 624-4344 or e-mail bobbit@kulay-diwa.com.

The Artinformal gallery has several exhibit which are ongoing until Dec. 28. These are idyls by Salvador Alonday at the Main Gallery, an installation of recent works in stoneware; Rebuilding Blocks by José Santos III at The Big Room, in which he transforms and presents individual rocks into objects that show the material in all its rawness; and Mythamporphosis by Raena Abella at The Inner Room, a meditation on mythology, nostalgia, and transformation. The gallery is located at 277 Connecticut St., San Juan City.

Samsung Electronics Philippines and the Yuchengco Museum present a tribute exhibition to National Artist for Visual Arts Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera who is is marking 50 years as an artist. The interactive exhibit, dubbed BenCab in Two Movements, is on view at the museum until Jan. 16. Yuchengco Museum is located at the RCBC Plaza, Corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avess., Makati City. For details e-mail info@yuchengcomuseum.org or visit http://yuchengcomuseum.org.

The Metropolitan Museum of Manila takes its turn in celebrating the 50 creative years of National Artist BenCab (Benedicto Cabrera) with a retrospective exhibition that will run until Feb. 27. The museum is located at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Blvd., Manila. For details, e-mail info@metmuseum.ph.

The Mind Museum presents A Glass of the Sea, an immersive, interactive and constantly updated exhibition on the discoveries from the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines, also dubbed as the “center of the center of marine biodiversity.” The exhibit runs until the end of the year, then will go on tour around the country. The Mind Museum is at JY Campos Park, 3rd Ave., Bonifacio Global City. For details, call 909-6463.

Galleria Duemila in partnership Greenbelt presents New Life, a public sculpture exhibition by Impy Pilapil. The exhibit runs until Feb. 28, 2016 at Greenbelt Park, Makati City. For details, call 831-9990, e-mail gduemila@gmail.com, or visit www.galleriaduemila.com.

PERFORMANCE

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THE PENINSULA MANILA’s annual holiday concert heralds the official start of the Christmas season. The 2015 version of this long running festive event is in aid of Hope for the Philippines, a charity which provides homes for families affected by Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda and enables them to stay together. This year’s concert entitled Celebrations: 32 Years of Christmas Concert at the Pen, will be on Dec. 12, 5-7 p.m., at the Lobby. Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Strauss’ Radetzsky March and Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, together with Christmas selections from Handel’s oratorio Messiah — including the “Hallelujah Chorus” — will be performed by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and the 50-voice University of Santo Tomas Singers, Rachelle Gerodias (soprano) and Byeong-In Park (baritone), under the baton of Ruggero Barbieri (photo). There is a P1,900 consumable fee (exclusive of taxes) that comes with selections from a festive merienda menu.

The very first Christmas 3-D Projection Mapping show, An Epson Spectacular Christmas Celebration, will transform structures at Capitol Commons into an interactive display that tells a story about the real meaning of the season. It will be held on Dec. 11, 5:30 p.m., at the Capitol Commons Park, Meralco Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Repertory Philippines’ production of The Secret Garden is ongoing until Dec. 20 at Onstage Theatre, Greenbelt 1, Paseo de Roxas St., Makati. Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the musical is directed by Anton Juan. For details, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call 891-9999.

PETA presents its long-running musical plays, Batang Rizal, ongoing until Dec. 13, at the PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. This award-winning production is about a young boy named Pepito who comes across a magical book that takes him to the time of the young Jose “Pepe” Rizal. For details, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call 891-9999.

Tanghalang Pilipino presents Prinsipe Munti, a stage adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book, The Little Prince. There will be performances on Dec. 11, 12 and 13 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m., at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City. The play is a fun mix of storytelling and entertainment through performance with music and shadow play/puppetry. For details, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call 891-9999.

The ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Gerard Salonga, presents The Magic of John Williams on Dec. 12, 8 p.m., at The Theatre at Solaire, Solaire Resort & Casino, Entertainment City, Parañaque City. The concert will put the spotlight on John Williams’ well-loved movie scores from blockbuster classic films through the years, including E.T., Jaws, Superman, Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Harry Potter, and the 1984 Olympics Anthem. The concert will also feature performances by Jose Mari Chan, Nikki Gil, and Morisette Amon. For tickets, contact TicketWorld at 891-9999.

Bonifacio Global City (BGC) has a series of activities and events geared towards the community. The Christmas Box Spectacular will be performed at the main stage every night, while the Wandering Minstrels sing familiar holiday tunes. A Christmas Symphony will be performed at Bonifacio High Street on Dec. 19; and there will also be performances by employees from Globe, Deutsche Bank, St. Luke’s Medical Center, the NET Group and The Mind Museum to name a few, over the holidays. Grab a Santa Hat by presenting receipts worth P2,500 from Bonifacio High Street establishments. Each hat will allow the wearer access to selected holiday activities such as Meet and Greet Santa, Santa’s Mail Station and Christmas Carriage Rides. Alternatively, a donation of P500 can get you a Santa hat as well. BGCitizens, however, need only present any proof of residence or employment to get one free Santa hat. For the full holiday schedule of activities, e-mail info@bgc.com.ph or visit www.bgc.com.ph and www.facebook.com/bonifacioglobalcityph.

Robinsons Malls nationwide will celebrate the holidays with a slew of musical performances plus entertaining shows and activities for kids. For the children, there is the Jungle Book Jive, a live show from Australia featuring Mowgli and his friends, which will have performances at Robinsons Place Imus, Robinsons Angeles, and Robinsons Place Iloilo on Dec. 12; Robinsons Place Antipolo, Pangasinan, and Roxas on Dec. 13; Robinsons Sta. Rosa and Robinsons Place Bacolod on Dec. 19; Robinsons Place Manila, Robinsons Place Malolos, and Robinsons Fuente on Dec. 20; and Robinsons Magnolia and Novaliches on Dec. 21. Robinsons Place Lipa will host the Jungle Book Playland. Meanwhile, the Jungle Book Jive Photoland lets kids take souvenir photos of this experience at Robinsons Place Las Piñas, Robinsons Place Imus, and Robinsons Sta. Rosa. Animated mechanical displays bring children to the Winter Park and the Winter Wonderland. The animated Winter displays are running at Robinsons Place Antipolo, Pangasinan, Gensan, Dumaguete, Bacolod, and Butuan, and at Robinsons Metro East, Robinsons Ilocos, Fuente and Cybergate Cebu. Meanwhile, shoppers will be serenaded with the hottest hits and all-time favorite Christmas tunes by Ely Buendia (Robinsons Galleria on Dec. 11, Robinsons Place Manila on Dec. 18, and Robinsons Magnolia on Dec. 19, at 6 p.m.), The Company (Robinsons Place Manila on Dec. 12, Robinsons Magnolia on Dec. 13, and Robinsons Galleria on Dec. 18, at 5 p.m.), Sitti Navarro (Robinsons Metro East on Dec. 12, 4 p.m., Robinsons Place Lipa on Dec. 13, 5 p.m., and Robinsons Place Las Piñas on Dec. 19, 5 p.m.), Juris Fernandez (Robinsons Place Antipolo on Dec. 12, Robinsons Place Malolos on Dec. 13, and Robinsons Place Angeles on Dec. 20, at 5 p.m.), and Morisette Amon (Robinsons Sta. Rosa on Dec. 12, and Robinsons Place Dasmariñas on Dec. 13, at 5 p.m.).

Disney-On-Ice-Magical-Ice-Festival-Photos-8
DISNEY ON ICE presents the Magical Ice Festival from Dec. 25 to Jan. 3, at the Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City. The ice skating show features favorite Disney characters from The Little Mermaid, Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, and, for the first time, Frozen. Visit the TicketNet Web site or call 911-5555 for details.

Megaworld Lifestyle Malls has officially begun the “Season of Sharing.” There will be musical performances by: The Voice Kids on Dec. 11, Jed Madela on Dec. 19 and X-Factor Australia Grand Winner Marlisa Punzalan on Dec. 27 at Lucky Chinatown. Over at Lucky Chinatown Walk, the stars of the upcoming movie Walang Forever, Jennylyn Mercado and Jericho Rosales, will have a mall show followed by live performances by the finalists of Starstruck on Dec. 13. Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill host performances by The Voice Kids finalists on Dec. 12 and Marlisa Punzalan on Dec. 26. At Eastwood City, meet Santa and the Minions every weekend. There will be children’s theater production from Trumpets’ Playshop, Once Upon a Christmas at Fairy Tale Ville, on Dec. 13 at the Eastwood Mall Atrium. On Dec. 19, children’s play Jack and the Beanstalk and a meet-and-greet with Dibo the Gift Dragon, will be held on Dec. 12 and 27 the Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill. Grand fireworks displays will be held every weekend at 8 p.m. in Eastwood City and Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill, and 7 p.m. at Lucky Chinatown. The malls will also be holding raffles in its Gift of Joy Holiday Promo. A Volkswagen Beetle, a condominium unit at Eastwood Le Grand Tower 2, and P1 million worth of jewelry from Rustan’s Silver Vault are up for grabs for those who will spend at least P2,000 at Eastwood City, Newport City, and Lucky Chinatown, or P1,000 at Venice Piazza, Forbes Town Center, The Clubhouse at Temple Drive and Paseo Center. For details call the Megaworld Lifestyle Malls Concierge at 709-9888, 709-0888, 0917-838-0111 or visit www.megaworldlifestylemalls.com.

Bituing Walang Ningning (The Musical) has performances at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila until January. Starring Mark Bautista, Antoinette Taus and Monica Cuenco, it is based on the famous film of the same name about an established star who finds herself competing for fame and love with a newcomer. Directed by Freddie Santos. For details, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call 891-9999.

Ballet Philippines brings Edna Vida Froilan’s Peter Pan to the stage from Dec. 4 to 13 at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. For details, visit www.ballet.ph, e-mail to info@ballet.ph, or call 551-1003. For tickets and reservations, call the CCP Box Office at 832-3704, or TicketWorld at 891-9999.

The twin bill of Si Maria Isabella at ang Guryon ng mga Tala (Eljay Castro Deldoc’s adaptation of Dean Francis Alfar’s Kite of Stars) and Games People Play (written by Palanca-winner Glenn Sevilla Mas), will run on Dec. 12, 13, 19, and 20 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight, Circuit Makati. Both productions by Bit by Bit Company are directed by Ed Lacson, Jr. Maria Isabella is about a young woman who realizes that the only way the boy of her dreams will notice her is if a giant kite takes her to the stars, the only things he’s willing to look at. Games People Play is about three friends who often play together, and their games become ways for them to explore their sexual identities. For details call 0917-712-2321, or tonibelle.chan@heroblueberrywest.com.ph.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music present Hallelujah! A Christmas Concert, at the CCP Main Theater, CCP Complex, Pasay City, on Dec. 15, 8 p.m. For details, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call 891-9999.

The concert Gary V Presents (The Repeat) will be held on Dec. 15, 8 p.m., at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at Resorts World Manila in Pasay City. Aong the entertainer’s many guests are Carla Guevara-Laforteza, Mitoy Yonting and Timmy Pavino. Musical Director Mon Faustino. For the benefit of the scholarship program of Shining Light Foundation, Inc. and Unicef. For details, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call 891-9999.

Manila Symphony Orchestra presents Music for the Holidays on Dec. 16, 8 p.m., at The Theatre at Solaire , Solaire Resort & Casino, Entertainment City, Parañaque City. The concert will feature excerpts from Handel’s Messiah and more. The orchestra will be joined by the Viva Voce Singers and Gerphil Flores. For details, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call 891-9999.

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra presents the concert PPO Concert Series IV on Dec. 18, 8 p.m., at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City. Yoshikazu Fukumura will conduct the orchestra on a program that includes Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 “Little Russian.” For details, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call 891-9999.

Reliving a Bicol Christmas tradition

IN MANY rural areas in the Philippines, the birth of Jesus Christ is reenacted during Christmas time, which invariably involves dancing and singing. It goes by different names in various provinces, but is practiced more widely in the Bicol Region as “Pastores” as an annual musical event.

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Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Overachieving New Yorker abandons the big time to follow Pinoy ex to California, in song

The Binge
Jessica Zafra

DOCTORS and aswang are the two things most often associated with Filipinos on prime-time American TV.

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Hepatitis in the Philippines

MEDICINE CABINET

REINER W. GLOOR

EXPERTS and officials from the Department of Health (DoH), the National Institute of Health, and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Philippines recently convened to review the current situation of hepatitis in the country. The meeting hoped to gather a consensus on the understanding of the disease burden and the program of actions needed to address the challenges posed by hepatitis in the Philippines. The participants agreed to develop a National Hepatitis Action Plan as one of the cornerstones in “understanding the true burden of chronic viral hepatitis in the Philippines.”

The DoH estimates that 10% to 16% of Filipino adults suffer from chronic hepatitis B infection. It is also approximated that around 1% of the estimated 100 million Filipinos has chronic hepatitis C.

The WHO estimates that almost 40% of global mortality due to viral hepatitis occurs in the Western Pacific Region.

Despite this high rate, the many effective drugs to combat viral Hepatitis B and C are only slightly more accessible now due to prohibitive cost in the Philippines and elsewhere.

In the case of hundreds of millions of people with hepatitis, including Filipinos, the WHO said that Hepatitis B and C infections lead to chronic liver disease, which is the most common causes of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Viral hepatitis is defined as “an inflammation of the liver caused by one of the five hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D and E.” Infections, toxic substances, such as alcohol and certain drugs, and auto-immune diseases can also cause hepatitis.

Viral hepatitis is considered a significant public health problem because of the sheer number of people affected, the number of deaths caused, and because of its potential for outbreaks and epidemic spread. In particular, types B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people. Combined, hepatitis B and C are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer, globally.

The five kinds of hepatitis viruses are transmitted through different routes: hepatitis A and E through contaminated food and water; hepatitis B through unsafe blood and other bodily fluids; and hepatitis C and D mostly through infectious blood. Hepatitis C can actually be transmitted through sexual contact as well, though this is rare. Hepatitis D is only transmitted to individuals already chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus.

While hepatitis A and E are typically caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water, hepatitis B, C, and D usually occur as a result of parenteral contact with infected body fluids. Common modes of transmission include transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products, invasive medical procedures using contaminated equipment, and, for Hepatitis B, transmission from mother to baby at birth, from family member to child, and also by sexual contact.

The five hepatitis viruses can cause an acute hepatitis which is characterized by fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, and jaundice. Most persons fully recover from acute hepatitis, but a small proportion can die from life-threatening complications.

Vaccination is still one of the most potent agents in the fight against hepatitis.

In the Philippines, about one in seven adults are infected with hepatitis B and more than half a million have hepatitis C, says a report in Medical Observer, a Philippine-based medical and health online publication. Hepatitis B accounts for more than two thirds of all cases of liver cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the country, said the article “Fight vs. Chronic Viral Hepatitis Rages in the Philippines,” in the Medical Observer.

The article estimated that the cost of hepatitis treatment and management in the Philippines can be prohibitive, given that the urban minimum daily wage is at P450.

“Hepatitis B profile costs P1,800; ultrasound, P450; hepatitis B viral load, P4,500; viral load for hepatitis C, P6,500; and genotyping, P14,350… Hepatitis B medication costs P135 a day or P49,000 a year that (may possibly run) for the rest of our lives. Hepatitis C treatment costs P732 per day for at least three months,” it said.

One notable aspect of the fight against the onslaught of hepatitis is the presence of two laws which give teeth and more power in the implementation of the vaccination program against hepatitis B.

From 1992, the nationwide immunization program started, to which the hepatitis B birth dose vaccination was included beginning 2006.

PhilHealth, the country’s version of a public or national health insurance program, also incorporated hepatitis vaccination in its newborn care package.

“Sadly, the program coverage for the entire 100 million Philippine population remains at its infancy; even the Department of Health has yet to turn up policies for viral hepatitis prevention and control,” the Medical Observer article said:

The article, meanwhile, noted that the “local government units are already integrating hepatitis B education in their information campaigns… that are usually integrated to their HIV programs and are implemented of varying degrees.”

Log on to www.phap.org.ph and www.phapcares.org.ph.  E-mail the author at reiner.gloor@gmail.com.

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