HYDERABAD, Jan 20: The district government and the Sindh Health Department would get vaccinated over 100,000 students of 1080 schools against hepatitis, said District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil while launching the campaign at the Comprehensive High School, Latifabad-10.

He said that the government was providing free treatment as it was a killer disease if untreated, and beyond the reach of poor for its treatment comes to somewhere around Rs50,000.

The government, to prevent people from catching it unaware, had launched a preventive programme which is targeted from the government schools as only children of parents without means seek admissions here, said District Nazim.

The ratio of hepatitis patients in Pakistan was three out of 100, while in Sindh it is 15 out of 100 , an alarmingly high proportion, he said.

Hyderabad stands out for being the only district in the country to have begun the programme he said adding that it would culminate only after achieving the target.

—Bureau