KARACHI, March 13: The Executive Director of the Pakistan Medical Research Council (PMRC), Dr Huma Qureishi, has registered serious concern about physicians recommending and administering drugs meant to treat Hepatitis B to patients inflicted with Hepatitis C, exposing the latter to serious complications.
In her presentation on “Present and Future of Hepatitis in Pakistan”, which she made as first of the series of the ‘Dr Sarwar Jahan Zuberi Memorial Lectures’ on Saturday, she reminded that all Hepatitis B virus (HBV) or Hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers may not necessarily require drug therapy. The lectures are being organized by the Kidney Foundation.
“It is only a selected group of carriers who are diagnosed and require treatment,” she observed, regretting that contrary to the very fact that many HBV and HCV carriers are being exploited by medical practitioners who cash emotions and distress.
According to her, it is not only that patients inflicted with HCV are attempted to be treated with drugs recommended for HBV, but very often patients who may not necessarily need medication at all, are compelled to take them against grave risk.
The senior researcher further elaborated that even those diagnosed with the disease also required a six-month period of regular monitoring prior to be administered with drug therapy, which was an expensive option and cost Rs60,000 to 70,000.
However, contrary to the very requirement, she said that lack of professional ethics among certain medical professionals in the country led to unassuming individuals being put on therapy without verifying whether the six-month constant chronicity existed among them or not.
She, on the occasion, categorically stated that HBV and HCV, both being treatable, required an extremely cautious approach, adding that while HBV patients held 80 per cent chances of absolute recovery, those of HCV had 20 per cent.
Prevention, she said, could not and must not be compromised under any condition, as treatment was expensive and unaffordable for the large majority.
Dr Huma also referred to the study undertaken by her and her departed mentor, Prof Sarwar Jahan Zuberi, establishing that majority of Pakistani population pertained to genotype three, which if inflicted with the disease, required drug therapy for six consecutive months rather than 12 months, as required by those with other genotypes.
She also mentioned that there existed no countrywide data regarding the prevalence of HBV or HCV; however, data compiled by various institutions revealed it to be 10 per cent of the total population.
Five percent of the Pakistani population was estimated to be carriers of HBV and another five percent of HCV, bringing the total number of carriers to around 10-20 million.
According to her, the PMRC would soon be launching a population-based data compilation programme under her supervision.
Keeping in view the fact that hepatitis was a blood borne disease with high chances of transmission, she said the prime minister had only recently announced an Rs2.6 billion hepatitis prevention programme aimed at its containment.
Under the very strategy, she said the existent coverage rate of Hepatitis B vaccination, already incorporated into the EPI programme with around 60 per cent coverage rate, would be attempted to be raised to 80 per cent in the next two years.
All high risk groups would be particularly targeted including medical professionals, mothers, and barbers and so forth, she said, adding that legislation for blood banks, hospitals, laboratories was also on the anvil to prevent the spread of virus.
In this regard, she mentioned that measures were under way to make the availability of disposable syringes easy and cost-effective across the country.
Earlier, Prof Jaffar Naqvi read out the citation for Prof S.J. Zuberi (late) and also referred to efforts made by her in the field of medical science and research in the larger interest of the Pakistani population.
He mentioned that Prof Zuberi was the moving spirit behind the establishment of the Journal of Pakistan Medical Association (JPMA) as a reputable publication.—APP
