KARACHI: At events held to mark World Hepatitis Day on Thursday, experts expressed concern over the growing numbers of hepatitis cases in the country and said some important steps the government needed to take immediately for prevention against viral hepatitis should include childhood vaccination, improved blood and injection safety and implementation of infection control practices at healthcare settings.

They also underscored the need for proper management of patients as the disease was often diagnosed at late stages leading to complications and death.

“A very alarming situation prevails in the country vis-à-vis hepatitis. The areas most affected by the disease include southern Punjab, upper Sindh and adjoining parts of Balochistan,” said senior gastroenterologist Prof Zaigham Abbas while speaking at an interactive public awareness session at Dr Ziauddin Hospital.

The theme of this year’s World Hepatitis Day is ‘Finding the Missing Millions’.

Sharing some data, Prof Abbas, also head of the gastroenterology department at Ziauddin University and Hospital, said that around 10 million suffered from hepatitis C whereas five million people had been diagnosed with hepatitis B.

“Unfortunately, Pakistan is a country where all five types of hepatitis viruses are present. In Punjab, a large number of people are living with hepatitis C, which is the most common type of hepatitis found there,” he said.

Informing the audience as to how the disease affects the body, Prof Abbas said the hepatitis virus directly attacked the liver and when this organ was not able to function properly, a patient became very vulnerable to develop many health issues, including ascites (fluid retention in abdomen), portal hypertension (elevated blood pressure in liver sinusoids), cirrhosis (shrunken liver), liver cancer and kidney failure, he added.

Senior gastroenterologist Dr Khurrum Baqai emphasised the need for preventive measures to control what he described as hepatitis epidemic in the country and said: “Majority of patients living with this disease are not aware that they have been hit by the virus. That’s why the disease is called a silent killer.”

ZU registrar retired captain S. Waqar Hussain called for training medical staff in early diagnosis of the disease and providing proper guidelines to the public.

Meanwhile, a number of activities were held at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) to mark hepatitis day. These events included free screening of hepatitis B and hepatitis C, vaccination of hepatitis B along with an ultrasound of abdomen.

Visitors were also apprised through audio-visuals about the prevention of hepatitis.

At a public awareness session, SIUT experts made an appeal to health planners and practicing professionals to work together for the elimination of hepatitis.

Sharing the World Health Organ­isation data, they pointed out that globally viral hepatitis B and C affected 325 million people and caused 1.4 million deaths annually.

Hepatitis infected people 10 times more than HIV, but more than 80 per cent of people living with hepatitis did not have access to prevention, testing and treatment services, they said.

Visitors were also informed about the mode of disease transmission, treatment and methods to prevent various forms of hepatitis. These preventive methods included use of boiled water for drinking, practice of hand washing before eating and after using washrooms and changing diapers, use of new syringes, razor blades and use of sterilised dental and surgical equipment in case of any procedure.

The experts who interacted with visitors included Dr Manzoor Siddiqui, Dr Farina Hanif, Dr Shoaib, Dr Mudassir Laeeq, Dr Ghous Soomro,

Dr Nasir Luck, along with dietician Kehkashan Zehra.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2019