ISLAMABAD: Almost 15 million people in Pakistan are suffering from hepatitis B or C and every year brings about 150,000 new cases.

The majority of people get the infection in healthcare settings, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences’ (Pims) gastroenterologist Dr Waseem Khawaja told Dawn on Friday, the eve of World Hepatitis Day.

“There are five types of hepatitis, from A to E, but hepatitis C is the leading cause of death all over the world. Over 350 million people worldwide are long-term carriers of hepatitis C. There is a need to give awareness to masses about the disease, which makes the liver dysfunctional,” he said.

“Every year, around 25,000 patients with hepatitis complications visit Pims and some 2,300 new patients start hepatitis C treatment. Almost 80pc patients cannot afford treatment and tests so they are referred to the Pakistan Baitul Mal to get funds for treatment,” Dr Khawaja said.

The majority of patients get the infection in healthcare settings, Pims doctor says

People should ensure their children are vaccinated against hepatitis, he said, adding that cleanliness and using sterilised instruments can help avoid the disease.

He said unscreened blood and blood products should not be used and disposable instruments should be used at beauty parlours and acupuncture centres.

Another doctor at Pims said polymerase chain reaction and genotyping are the main tests done to decide if a patient needs treatment and if so, for how long.

“A machine used to check if treatment has worked is not available in federal government hospitals and people have to pay between Rs16,000 and Rs20,000 to get the tests done at private facilities,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme (SBTP) organised a seminar in connection with World Hepatitis Day.

SBTP National Coordinator Prof Hassan Abbas Zaheer talked about the global strategy and response for halting and preventing the spread of hepatitis.

“The international effort led by WHO is supported by all member states. Pakistan is also signatory to international commitments made in the UN General Assembly in 2015 which adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, calling on the international community to eliminate hepatitis. These commitments were articulate in the Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis presented to the World Health Assembly in 2016,” he said.

He said that efforts were being made to make transfusions in Pakistan infection free and strengthen the blood transfusion services.

“These efforts include the development of a new nationwide blood transfusion infrastructure- construction of regional blood centres - with the support of the German government through KFW Development Bank grant,” he said.

“SBTP has also revived the blood regulatory authorities in all the provinces and regions which are now strictly enforcing quality screening systems in the blood centres.

The regulatory authorities have also managed to curb and significantly reduce the rampant use of substandard manual screening devices, a major source of spread of hepatitis in Pakistan,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2018