The Health experts on Wednesday urged the media to play an active role in highlighting early screening, preventive measures as well as vaccination against hepatitis related illness, as viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer.
World Hepatitis Day is being observed all over the world including Pakistan to raise awareness of viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that causes severe liver disease and hepatocellular cancer.
This year’s theme is “Hepatitis can’t wait”, conveying the urgency of efforts needed to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. With a person dying every 30 seconds from a hepatitis related illness – even in the current COVID-19 crisis – we can’t wait to act on viral hepatitis.
Medical Consultant Dr Shahid Ahmad stressed that hepatitis B vaccine is widely successful and should be administered to all those who haven’t been infected.
Viral hepatitis known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E affects millions of people globally, he said, adding its causing acute and chronic liver disease, he said.
“Globally, 325 million people live with Hepatitis, with more than 1.1 million lives lost each year”, he said, adding, Pakistan would become one of the highest prevalence of the disease if people do not pay serious attention for their early screening and early treatment of disease.
Another expert on liver diseases Dr Sajjad Jamil said that the recent statistics regarding this disease are really alarming where millions of Pakistani population is suffering from hepatitis as 1 out of every 10 Pakistanis has contracted hepatitis.
Provision of clean drinking water, hygienic food and improved sanitation can reduce the spread of this type of hepatitis substantially, he further suggested.
Dr Nazish Bhutt said an effective vaccine can prove lifelong immunity and now hepatitis E vaccine is available for people undergoing.
She said Hepatitis B & C ratio is increasing and main reasons behind are unnecessary use of syringes, unsafe blood transfusion, usage of unsterilized equipment in dental procedures, piercing and other beauty procedures such as pedicure etc.
At the end the experts emphasized that there is an urgent need to spread awareness regarding screening, prevention and management of this disease so that they can prevent this disease at an early stage to prevent the loss.
