Fighting Hepatitis B in North Korea: Feasibility of a Bi-modal Prevention Strategy

Unnewehr, Markus; Stich, August

doi:10.3346/jkms.2015.30.11.1584

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…A study by Unnewehr and Stich highlight the results of a nation-wide hepatitis B programme implemented by Caritas Germany and MOPH, which enabled vaccination of 3.7 million children aged 6 to 16 years old, between 2010 and 2012, achieving a coverage rate of 99.2% (3.7 million out of 3.75 million). It described collaboration on clinical training and activities to develop hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevention strategies in the DPRK 14…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic review of evidence on public health in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

et al. 2019

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BackgroundEngaging in public health activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea) offers a means to improve population health for its citizens and the wider region. Such an engagement requires an understanding of current and future needs.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search of five English and eight Korean language databases to identify available literature published between 1988 and 2017. A narrative review of evidence was conducted for five major categories (health systems, communicable diseases (CDs), non-communicable diseases (NCDs), injuries, and reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) and nutrition).FindingsWe found 465 publications on the DPRK and public health. Of the 253 articles that addressed major disease categories, we found under-representation of publications relative to proportion of disease burden for the two most significant causes: NCDs (54.5% publications vs 72.6% disability adjusted life years (DALYs)) and injuries (0.4% publications vs 12.1% DALYs), in comparison to publications on the third and fourth largest disease burdens, RMNCH and nutrition (30.4% publications vs 8.6% DALYs) and CDs (14.6% publications vs 6.7% DALYs) which were over-represented. Although most disease category articles were on NCDs, the majority of NCD articles addressed mental health of refugees. Only 165 articles addressed populations within the DPRK and among these, we found publication gaps on social and environmental determinants of health, CDs, and NCDs.ConclusionThere are gaps in the public health literature on the DPRK. Future research should focus on under-studied, significant burdens of disease. Moreover, establishing more precise estimates of disease burden and their distribution, as well as analysis on health systems responses aimed at addressing them, can result in improvements in population health.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic review of evidence on public health in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

et al. 2019

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“… 1 Vaccination gaps in children had been addressed as part of an Expanded Program of Immunization in 2003 for infants and children and a catchup vaccination program took place in 2009. 2 A further 7 million children were vaccinated between 2010 and 2012. However, most adults and at-risk individuals such as health care workers and close contacts of infected individuals remain untested and unvaccinated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Program to Treat Hepatitis B in North Korea: A Model of Antiviral Therapy in a Resource-Poor Setting

Lee

Linton²,

Kilsby

et al. 2018

Gut and Liver

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Despite the well-proven, safe and effective therapies for hepatitis B infection, delivery of treatment remains a significant challenge in resource-poor settings. Geopolitical and economic restrictions present additional difficulties in providing care in North Korea. However, treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B remains a top priority for both the North Korean Ministry of Public Health and international agencies working in North Korean hepatitis healthcare facilities. Working in partnership, a path was created to institute this much-needed program. A consortium of United States and Australian humanitarian non-governmental organizations along with generous individual and corporate donors working in concert with local and national health authorities have succeeded in establishing the first hepatitis B treatment program in North Korea. The essential elements of this program include renovation of existing hepatitis hospitals, access to antiviral medications, establishment of laboratory facilities, creation of medical documentation and record-keeping, training of local health care professionals, and quarterly visits by international volunteer physicians and laboratory experts. Management and treatment decisions are made bilaterally. To date, nearly 1,500 patients have been evaluated, and over 800 have been started on long-term antiviral therapy. It is envisioned that this program will eventually be managed and funded by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Ministry of Public Health. This program’s success demonstrates a potential model for delivery of antiviral therapy for patients suffering from hepatitis B in other developing countries.

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“…The urgent necessary vaccines for DPRK are tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheriatetanus-pertussis, polio and typhoid [14,15]. However, all the 14 kinds of vaccines included in the standard vaccination schedule of ROK should be provided as quickly as possible for DPRK's children and infants [16].…”

Section: Immunization Status Of Dprk and Rokmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary Study on Restoration of the Immunization System of the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea after Reunification

Seulki¹,

Bang²

2017

J Vaccines Vaccin

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Fighting Hepatitis B in North Korea: Feasibility of a Bi-modal Prevention Strategy

Cited by 7 publications

References 19 publications

Systematic review of evidence on public health in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Systematic review of evidence on public health in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

A Program to Treat Hepatitis B in North Korea: A Model of Antiviral Therapy in a Resource-Poor Setting

Preliminary Study on Restoration of the Immunization System of the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea after Reunification

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