ISLAMABAD: With over 16pc of global hepatitis patients living in Pakistan, the government has decided to launch the Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Eradication programme this month.

This was announced by prime minister’s coordinator Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath on Tuesday. He said it was unfortunate that the number of patients, suffering from hepatitis, was increasing in the country.

There are 60 million people suffering from hepatitis across the globe, out of which 10 million are in Pakistan.

“However I have good news for them; they will get the treatment as Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programme is being launched and a PC-I of Rs68 billion has been approved for it,” he said.

Dr Bharath said the programme would be started with the collaboration of the federal government and all four provinces.

Every person over 12 years of age to be screened; free treatment to be provided to patients

“People of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan will benefit from the programme. For the eradication of hepatitis C, the prime minister himself will chair the National Task Force for the eradication of disease,” he said.

The prime minister’s aide said every person, over the age of 12 years, would be screened for the disease and a list of positive persons would be prepared so that they would be treated.

He said free of cost treatment would be provided to all patients, adding that the federal government was going to establish a project management unit for the implementation of the programme. He said a policy was being devised to control non-communicable and communicable diseases in Pakistan.

“The current government has kept the health sector in its priorities and reforms are being introduced in the sector,” Dr Bharath said.

Consultant gastroenterologist and hepatologist at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Dr Hyder Abbasi, while talking to Dawn, appreciated the measures being taken for free screening.

He said hepatitis A and E usually caused acute hepatitis in which symptoms were visible like jaundice, vomiting, body aches and fever.

“It settles in four to six weeks with supportive medicines. In rare cases it gets complicated and patients land in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Hepatitis A and E spread through polluted water. On the other hand, Hepatitis B and C spreads through blood and related products,” he added.

“Hepatitis B and C are more dangerous in a way that they cause chronic hepatitis and symptoms are not evident until the disease has advanced and the liver has been damaged. With this several complications arise like blood in vomitus, black-coloured stools, ascites, which is fluid in abdomen, and altered conscious level. It even leads to liver tumour,” he added.

“People should get screened for hepatitis B and C as 9 out of 10 people living with hepatitis do not know they have the disease. For Hepatitis B effective vaccine is available and if people are vaccinated, like Covid-19, we can reduce the burden of hepatitis,” he said.

Dr Abbasi suggested that people should avoid unnecessary injections and drips, tattoos and get dental and surgical procedures only from authentic medical facilities with proper sterilisation of instruments, ask barbers to use new blades and in case of blood transfusion make sure it is screened properly.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2024