KARACHI, Oct 19: While the exact magnitude and extent of Hepatitis B Virus and C virus is still unknown in Pakistan, at least 10 million people are estimated to harbour HBV and five million are more chronically infected with HCV.

Doctors, on the basis of cases referred to them, cited prevalence among general population in Karachi to be around seven to 10 per cent and 10 to 16 per cent in different regions of the country.

A study reflects that among the high risk groups, HBV surface antigenemia range from seven per cent in doctors, 17 per cent in dentists and 22 per cent in multiple blood unit recipients to 70 per cent in liver cancer patients.

The figures for HBV surface antigen prevalence in healthy blood donors range from 2.2 per cent to 3.6 per cent, said Dr. Syed Abdul Mujib of JPMC.

Although exact seroprevalence of antibodies to HCV in various segments of Pakistani population is not known, according to another study carried out by Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Hafizabad, the prevalence rate registered to be seven per cent in 1993 grew up to 35 per cent in the next few years.

In a similar study conducted at Karachi, it was found to be 6.6 per cent among the general public. Among the high risk groups the figures were alarmingly high. At AKUH 46 per cent per cent of the cases on dialysis were registered to be HCV infected.

At Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore, of a small group of 82 patients on dialysis, 51 were found to be HCV infected. In Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), the seroprevalence for HCV was 40 per cent among dialysis patients.

Some of the preliminary studies showed that 80 per cent of patients with previous cardiac bypass surgery and 90 per cent of thalassaemia major patients were found to be seropositive for anti-HCV.

More than a third of the world’s population has meanwhile been found to be infected with HBV despite the implementation of HBV vaccine and more effective public health measures.

It is also estimated that of the 350 million chronic carriers of HBV worldwide, at least 75 per cent reside in the Asian region.

Health care providers claim that a quarter of these develop serious liver diseases, including hepatitis, cirrhosis, and primary liver cancer. The WHO estimates that HBV results in one to two million deaths every year around the world.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) though relatively holds a low prevalence rate as compared to HBV, is said to be the most common cause of chronic liver disease due to the fact that each new case of acute viral hepatitis had an 85 per cent chance of being added to the growing pool of chronic viral hepatitis.—APP