May 05, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1428

KOHAT, May 4: The federal Ministry of Health has allocated Rs2.58 billion for a programme to control hepatitis, which includes vaccination at the basic health unit level, for eight million registered patients in the country under a five-year plan. As there is only one hepatitis screening laboratory in the country, it takes three to four months to get a test result because of the rush on the single laboratory in Lahore. A patient cannot get treatment during this time.

This was stated at a workshop held at the KDA medical complex here on Thursday night.

Briefing journalists and doctors at the workshop, the coordinator for the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis, Ministry of Health, Dr (PhD) Sajjad Ahmed Khan, said one screening laboratory would be established in each province at a cost of Rs 6 million.

He said a huge fund was required for waste management and supply of clean water.

He said the government would provide free screening facility and medicines to hepatitis patients for which budget would be revised each year keeping in view the number of patients. Similarly, the programme duration could be extended, he said.

Mr Khan said two camps would be set up in Kohat from Friday to Saturday where people would be provided free screening facility. “The people whose result is positive will be provided free course which can cost between Rs50,000 to Rs100,000 depending on the seriousness of the disease.”

Initially, the government had registered 130 patients in Kohat who were being provided treatment and most of them belonged to the Orakzai Agency.

The in-charge of the hepatitis cure centre, Dr Irshad Noor, said the number of hepatitis patients in the Orakzai Agency was high where there were even seven patients in the same house.

Dr Irshad, who is also the regional in-charge of the HIV centre, said the number of Aids patients in the Orakzai Agency was also the highest. But he said: “The problem of hepatitis is bigger because of the high number of patients who are dying due to unawareness as compared to HIV.”

Mr Khan said the success rate of treatment in case of hepatitis worldwide was between 60 to 65 per cent.

Answering a question, he said there were 4 to 5 per cent chances of transfer of virus to a woman if a man had hepatitis and was completely cured before marriage.

The deputy executive district officer, health, said the presence of Afghan refugees in a large number, most of whom were virus carriers, also contributed to the spread of the disease.

The director of the KDA medical complex, Dr Khizar Hayat, said the centre for hepatitis patients in Kohat catered to the needs of people from Hangu, Orazkai and Karak districts. He said another centre would be set up in Karak soon.

He said the government planned to provide a special liquid solution to dental surgeons which would disinfect their equipment within five minutes.