PESHAWAR, June 18: The Pakistan Medical Association, NWFP in collaboration with the Lines Club have planned to launch a week- long public awareness campaign against the deadly ailment of Hepatitis B from June 19.

Speaking at a news conference here on Tuesday, the PMA’s provincial president, Dr Inayatur Rehman Khalil and Malik Akhtar Hussain of the Lines Club, informed that they have made elaborate arrangements to raise public awareness against the deadly epidemic of Hepatitis B.

The week-long campaign is to start from June 19 which would continue till June 24.

During this period, they said the people would be vaccinated against the killer disease at various designated points at the city. According to them, the people weren’t able to buy the expensive vaccines, and therefore, arrangements have been made to administer the vaccines to the people at subsidized rates.

Malik Akhtar of the Lines Club said the disease was 100 times more infectious than Aids and every tenth person in Pakistan was the carrier of Hepatitis B.

About two billion people have been infected with the Hepatitis B worldwide while 1.5 million die of it annually, said Dr Khalil.