Emmanuel Ekanem, a specialist in gastroenterology and hepatology and professor of paediatrics at Nigeria’s University of Calabar, told Africa Check there was no scientific evidence that the mixture treated hepatitis B.
He said treating the various forms of hepatitis B infection required specific care regimens.
“At some stages, you do not need to interfere with drugs, while some will require drugs. There are standard drugs for these and clear indications of when to deploy these drugs,” he said.
Claims shared online encourage people to consume all kinds of mixtures to treat hepatitis B, Ekanem said. These may cause patients to abandon their prescribed medicine, only to return to the hospital with more severe symptoms.
He said people with hepatitis B should be careful of taking alternative remedies as these could further damage the liver and lead to complications affecting other organs, such as the kidney.
“People who suspect they might have this infection should visit a specialist who can do a test, confirm if they are infected, determine their viral load, and tailor their treatment according to the stage of the infection,” he said.
This piece is a collaboration between Daily Trust and Africa Check to fight health misinformation
