LAHORE World Hepatitis Day was observed on Tuesday throughout Pakistan by medical organisations, hospitals and NGOs with an aim to raise global awareness about hepatitis B and C and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Many awareness activities were facilitated and coordinated by the Association of Physicians of Pakistani descent of North America (APPNA) Hepatitis C Initiative at medical and health institutions across Pakistan including Khyber Medical College (Peshawar), King Edward Medical University (Lahore), University of Health Sciences (Lahore), Chandka Medical College (Larkana), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (Karachi) and numerous other medical colleges and allied hospitals throughout major cities in the four provinces. The participants during the day organised rallies, held seminars, Hepatitis C screening camps, poster competitions, plays and other outreach activities. The participants in the awareness activities stressed prevention from Hepatitis B and C through proper disinfection of surgical, dental and barber, beauty parlour instruments to stop the spread of infection; use of bleach and only effective disinfectants with proven efficacy for disinfection should be used and disinfection protocols should be strictly adhered to in all surgical, dental and other procedures; all blood and blood products and donors should be screened with proper and proven diagnostic kits and all records of such transfusions and kits used to be kept so that all malpractice cases are identified and prosecuted. According to medical experts, there are approximately 500 million people worldwide who have either hepatitis B or C. If left untreated and unmanaged, hepatitis B or C can lead to advanced liver scarring (cirrhosis) and other complications, including liver cancer or liver failure. “Hepatitis spreads like AIDS, but it can be controlled by adopting preventive measures and running an awareness campaign,” said Dr Maqbool Arshad, chairman APPNA Hepatitis C Initiative. There are at least 12-15 million people in Pakistan suffering from Hepatitis B and C and the number is increasing day by day. A majority of the people will die early with liver failure either due to infection of liver or cancer of liver, he added. Meanwhile, according to another press release issued here on Tuesday, a free medical camp was organised in Shalamar Hospital, where patients were facilitated by free screening and other related medical checkups along with subsidized vaccination of hepatitis B. Dr. Haroon Yousaf and Dr. Maryam Tarar said that the spread of hepatitis in the country was because of the re-use of disposable syringes, transfusion of unscreened blood, use of contaminated equipment in medical facilities, sharing razor blades and unfiltered water supply. Dr. Ahmed Waseem also visited the camp and appreciated public interest and pharmaceuticals’ role in combating the disease.
