PESHAWAR, Feb 8: In the wake of slow-paced measures being taken by the government to prevent the spread of Hepatitis in the country, the dreaded ailment is spreading like a wild fire in Pakistan, hepatologist prof Dr Najibul Haq told Dawn in an interview here on Tuesday.

“Well established mode of transmission of Hepatitis B and C is multiple use of injections, which ultimately leads to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatic encephalopathy and oesophageal varices. All these complications are unfortunately not curable and the only effective treatment of liver failure is liver transplantation which is technically difficult and expansive surgery, available in some countries but not in Pakistan. It costs Rs7 million with subsequent life-long expenditure on medications and various tests required for the continuous evaluation of the transplanted liver. With little national and personal resources this treatment is out of reach, for the majority of our population,” said Dr Najib.

Hepatitis B and C can be called as “AIDS” in some of the developing countries, including Pakistan. Unfortunately, the fight against Hepatitis B and C is at a very slow pace.

Hepatitis B and C are not only the commonest causes of chronic liver disease in the patients, many individuals carry the virus of Hepatitis B and C in their bodies without any signs and symptoms.

The most unfortunate fact is that these are preventable diseases and simple measures are required to completely avoid or at least significantly reduce the risk of infection.

It is obvious from the table that many patients had more than one risk factors for transmission of Hepatitis B or C. It is also clear that all these risk factors are easily preventable by simple measures. Avoidance of these risk factors is the only logical answer to prevent further spread of the silent epidemic.

The most important route of transmission in our society are injections. Patients have developed the habit of asking doctors for getting injections, because they think that they are more effective. Doctors claim that the patients do not get satisfied unless they are given injectable medications. Disposable syringes are recycled and reused without being sterilised, putting the people at the razor’s edge.

Blood transfusion is another important source of transmission of these viruses. The government has already promulgated an ordinance for the safe blood transfusions. However, screening for both these viruses is still not carried out in majority of the Blood Banks, which include a large number of private blood donation services. Prior to transfusion of blood, testing of the blood should be done by all blood transfusion services.

Use of needles for tattooing, ear or nose piercing (particularly in girls) and acupuncture, etc., which can transmit Hepatitis. In addition, use of other ‘sharps’ like nail clippers, scissors, instruments used by doctors, dentists and other people can also spread the disease.