About 2.8 million people in Ghana are living with Hepatitis B, a burden that continues to fuel the country’s rising liver cancer cases and that paediatrician Dr. Hilda Mantebea Boye says starts taking hold long before most parents ever suspect it.
Speaking on the impact of the virus on children, President of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, Dr. Hilda Mantebea Boye said more than half of all primary liver cancers in the country trace back to Hepatitis B infection, and used the discussion to press for earlier screening, timely birth-dose vaccination, and greater caution around unregulated herbal remedies.
Dr. Mantebea Boye said 53 percent of primary liver cancers are linked directly to Hepatitis B infection, describing it as “a little more than half” of all recorded cases.
She said prevalence among children under five sits below one percent, but climbs sharply to about 14.3 percent among adolescents, a gap she attributes largely to weaknesses in early-life prevention rather than to the virus itself becoming more aggressive with age.
Dr. Boye pointed to disparities in antenatal screening and access to vaccination. She explained that in wealthier countries, routine screening of pregnant women combined with consistent preventive vaccination has driven transmission down significantly.
“Where vaccination is low, and pregnant women do not receive the immunoglobulin or the vaccine at birth, transmission will continue. The baby is then at higher risk of developing the Hepatitis B virus and will grow with it.”
President of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, Dr. Hilda Mantebea Boye
She disclosed that Ghana’s national birth-dose rollout, which had been expected to start in October, has yet to begin, leaving many newborns exposed to a preventable route of transmission.
Infection Rates Rise Sharply with Age
On the signs parents should watch for, Dr. Boye said the virus typically produces no symptoms in its early stages, since it grows slowly and can go unnoticed for some time.
The clearest early warning, she said, is jaundice, appearing as yellowing of the eyes or skin, often followed by vomiting, nausea and loss of appetite. In more advanced cases, she said children may develop a distended abdomen from fluid build-up, along with swelling in the feet.
She cautioned that jaundice is not unique to Hepatitis B, noting that conditions such as G6PD deficiency, red blood cell breakdown, certain medications or other infections can produce similar symptoms.
“We need to ask ourselves many questions when we see that our children have jaundice, because it may not just be the Hepatitis B.”
President of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, Dr. Hilda Mantebea Boye
Her message to parents was direct: the moment jaundice appears, the child should be taken to hospital immediately for proper checks rather than observed at home.
A Warning Against Herbal Treatments
Dr. Mantebea Boye pushed back firmly against turning to unregulated herbal remedies once symptoms surface, warning that treatments of unknown origin and dosage can cause further harm rather than relief.
“Herbal medicines can cause liver problems. It can cause kidney problems and may make your child worse. It’s important not to just assume that this one will work because this person’s child got jaundice and they gave this and it became better.”
President of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, Dr. Hilda Mantebea Boye
She stressed that only a hospital visit can confirm through proper investigation whether a child’s jaundice is actually caused by Hepatitis B, rather than one of the other possible underlying conditions.
How Doctors Confirm and Classify the Infection
Describing how diagnosis works, Dr. Mantebea Boye said clinicians rely on blood tests to detect the virus and to assess liver enzyme levels, since the liver is the organ the virus primarily attacks. She said abdominal scans are also used to examine the size, structure and texture of the liver, helping build a fuller clinical picture.
She explained that the blood test also helps distinguish an acute infection from a chronic one: once the virus has remained in a child’s blood for more than six months, it is classified as chronic, a distinction she said is central to determining the right course of treatment.
On treatment effectiveness, Dr. Mantebea Boye said timing makes a decisive difference. She said that when an acute infection is identified immediately after birth and the baby receives both the Hepatitis B vaccine and immunoglobulin, between 70 and 90 percent of newborns avoid developing the infection altogether.
Cases that go unnoticed and progress into the chronic stage are instead managed with antiviral medications, which she said help reduce the amount of virus in the blood and limit further damage to the liver, though without the near-complete protection early intervention offers.
Vaccine Rollout Still Pending, But Routine Doses Remain Free
Dr.Mantebea Boye confirmed that the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service have held a number of meetings on introducing the Hepatitis B birth dose nationally, but that it is not yet available.
In the meantime, she urged pregnant women living with Hepatitis B to remain consistent with whatever treatment their obstetrician-gynaecologist prescribes, both to protect their own health and to reduce risk to their baby.
She advised that families ensure the Hepatitis B vaccine and immunoglobulin are available at delivery, ideally administered within 24 hours of birth and no later than 72 hours, noting that the earlier the intervention, the better the chances of preventing transmission from mother to child.
She added that routine childhood vaccinations, which include a Hepatitis B dose, remain freely available at every child welfare clinic across the country, and urged both mothers and fathers to ensure their children complete the full schedule.
With an estimated 2.8 million Ghanaians already living with Hepatitis B and the large majority undiagnosed, Dr. Mantebea Boye’s account points to the earliest weeks of life, screening, timely vaccination and swift response to jaundice, as the clearest window for preventing the next generation of cases.
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