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Chapter 77 - The Liver

from Section 11 - Diseases of Body Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2025

By
Edford Sinkala ,
Nimzing Ladep  and
Edemariam Tsega
Edited by
David Mabey ,
Martin W. Weber ,
Moffat Nyirenda ,
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu ,
Jackson Orem ,
Laura Benjamin ,
Michael Marks  and
Nicholas A. Feasey
David Mabey
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Martin W. Weber
Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Moffat Nyirenda
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu
Affiliation:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana
Jackson Orem
Affiliation:
Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala
Laura Benjamin
Affiliation:
University College London
Michael Marks
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Nicholas A. Feasey
Affiliation:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
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Summary

The common aetiological factors of liver disease in Africa are infectious (viral, bacterial, parasitic), metabolic and malignancy. Acute viral hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma are responsible for at least 12% of medical admissions and over 20% of hospital mortality in many countries, where 95% of young adults have antibody to hepatitis A virus. But this pattern is changing because sanitation has improved among the urban rich who may thus be vulnerable to infection. The predominant clinical features of chronic liver disease in African patients, often modified by HIV, are different from those commonly observed in the northern hemisphere.

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Principles of Medicine in Africa , pp. 797 - 821
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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