1.3 million Moroccans affected by hepatitis B virus

Between 780,000 and 1.3 million Moroccans are affected by the hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Morocco's health minister said.

Addressing the first congress of Moroccan Society of Public Health held lately in Moroccan southern city of Marrakesh under the theme "Viral hepatitis," the Moroccan minister said that among 600,000 newborns, between 18,000 and 30,000 will contract the killer virus while some 4,500 others will develop liver cancer.

For the time being, the Moroccan minister said immunization is the only the efficient prevention.

To contain this plague, Morocco, he said, will include the anti-HBV vaccine in its annual national immunization programs.