KARACHI: Medical scientists, health experts and public health professionals sharing their views in an online awareness session on Saturday agreed that viral hepatitis was three to four times more lethal than coronavirus infection as it was resulting in over 300 deaths daily in Pakistan.

They noted that at the moment, around 15 million people were infected with Hepatitis B and C in the country but unfortunately, majority of them were unaware that they were carrying these viruses silently and transmitting to others unknowingly.

“Hepatitis B and C are several times more lethal viral diseases than coronavirus infection and resulting in around 300 to 325 deaths daily in Pakistan while Covid-19 is causing far less casualties as compared to viral hepatitis. WHO says approximately, 5 and 10 million people are affected with Hepatitis B and C, respectively, in Pakistan. Thousands of new patients are added every year due to lack of prevention, testing and treatment resources as well as inadequately screened blood transfusion, improperly sterilised invasive medical devices and unsafe injections,” Dr Lubna Kamani, a senior consultant gastroenterologist said while taking part in the session, held in connection with World Hepatitis Day 2020.

On the occasion, winners of an international poster competition organised by Pakistan G.I. and Liver Diseases Society (PGLDS) in collaboration with Project Polaroid (a non-profit organisation founded by school children) for the youngster on the theme of World Hepatitis Day 2020 were also awarded certificates and cash prizes.

The first position was bagged by Ibrahim Arshad, second by Aisha Panda and Daanya Nadee while third position was secured by Fizza Mujahid.

Dr Lubna Kamani, a consultant both at the Liaquat National and Aga Khan hospitals, said the theme was ‘Finding the Missing Million’, which meant that around 290 million people were living with viral hepatitis in the world without knowing their health status.

“Without finding the undiagnosed and linking them to care, millions will continue to suffer, and lives will be lost. On World Hepatitis Day, to be observed on July 28, we call on the people and authorities in Pakistan to take action and raise awareness to find the missing millions,” she said, adding that youth must be involved to create awareness about viral hepatitis, which appeared to be more lethal and painful, its treatment being more expensive, as compared to Covid-19 or any other infectious disease.

PGLDS president Dr Sajjad Jamil called for joint efforts to raise awareness about viral hepatitis in Pakistan, saying that hepatitis can be eliminated or controlled in Pakistan if collaborative efforts were started and people were made aware of the preventive measures so that they could protect themselves and their families from the lethal, blood-borne viral infection.

“In addition to coronavirus, there is an urgent need to create awareness about other communicable diseases, especially Hepatitis B and C in Pakistan. We have over 15 million infected with these viruses but majority of them are unaware of their health status. Most of these people only come to know about their disease when it is too late. There is an urgent need to screen the entire Pakistani society for Hepatitis B and C,” Dr. Sajjad Jamil, who is a consultant at the Liaquat National Hospital (LNH), observed.

He urged people to get their children vaccinated against Hepatitis B, whose vaccine was now part of the country’s immunisation programme. He also appealed to the authorities to immediately launch a screening drive to ‘Find the Missing Million’ so that they could be treated at the earliest and health people could be prevented from the infectious disease.

PGLDS patron and gastroenterologist associated with Darul Sehat Hospital, Karachi, Dr Shahid Ahmed said Hepatitis B and C infections were transmitted primarily through blood and were key causes of liver cirrhosis and cancer.

“Message on World Hepatitis Day 2020 is very clear that every Pakistani needs to be screened for Hepatitis B and C so that those who tested positive could be treated. We daily see patients with liver cirrhosis which is the last stage of the liver disease due to viral hepatitis. It also leads to Hepatocellular Carcinoma or cancer of the liver, which is a serious illness, and in most of the cases, it leads to death if liver transplant is not performed. The best solution to avoid these conditions is early screening and if the result is positive, start treatment,” Dr Shahid Ahmed told the participants.

Eminent hepatologist from the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) Dr Nazish Butt said that since most people living with hepatitis remained unaware of their actual medical problem, they could require repeated hospitalisation and expensive medicines, before the ultimate liver transplant, causing heavy financial burden to their families as well as health systems. “In many cases, patients die within one to three years as they get access to testing and treatment very late,” she added.

Several other health experts including former Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) registrar Prof Amanullah Abbassi, Dr Hafeezullah Shaikh from the same institution, Dr Nauman Zakir from Lahore and Dr Jibran Umer Ayub Khan from the Kabir Medical College, Peshawar, also also shared their opinions.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2020