KARACHI, Aug 16: Around 12 million people living in Pakistan are infected with Hepatitis B and C.

This was stated at a two-day conference on “Consensus Conference on Guidelines for the Management of Hepatitis B and C”, organized by the Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology and G.I. Endoscopy at a local hotel here on Saturday.

A number of gastroenterologists gave presentations on the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C in Pakistan, their natural history and classification, mode of transmission, counselling, prevention, and treatment.

The speakers said that chronic lever disease due to Hepatitis B and C was a major health concern in Pakistan, while adding that about four per cent of its total population were suffering from Hepatitis C, with similar percentage harbouring Hepatitis B in their body.

Some of these patients had end-stage liver disease and were suffering from complications like bloody vomiting, attacks of unconsciousness and liver cancer, they added.

While inaugurating the conference, Advisor to Chief Minister on Health Noman Saigal expressed deep concern over the status of liver diseases in Pakistan. He said that Hepatitis B and C were the global health problems, but in our limited resources, the issue had become enormously serious.

He stressed for the need for organized collaborative efforts of medical intelligentsia, government, community and media in the war against hepatitis.

Mr Noman urged the doctors and other health care workers to serve the patients with more devotion and hard work. He also emphasized that there should be health insurance policy so that every patient should get proper treatment.

“I have asked doctors to join hands with government, because we want real welfare state for everybody,” he said.

In her deliberation, Dr Sarwar Zubairi said that 3.4 per cent blood donors were found infected with Hepatitis B virus during observation. She said that 24 blood banks were checked in the city, out of which, 12 were found supplying without screening of blood.

Dr Zubairi said that out of 1,000 medical students six per cent were found Hepatitis B positive, however, the rate in paramedics and sanitary staff were the highest with 15 per cent.

She said that unsafe injection practices like repeated use of syringes were causing Hepatitis B positive, as Pakistan is the highest syringes consuming country among South Asian countries.

The general secretary of the society, Dr Zaigham Abbas, said that the prevalence of lever cancer was increasing in Pakistan. He said that the society had been very active in increasing awareness among fellow physicians and general public regarding health implications of these infections adding that this event is the continuation of this endeavour.

Other speakers were Dr Husnain Shah, Dr Nasir Khokhar, Dr Wasim Jafri, Dr Mohammad Omar, Dr Arif Siddiqui, Dr Huma Qureshi, Dr Altaf Alam, Dr Javed Butt, and Dr Saeed Hamid.—PPI