4.8pc hepatitis found in 13 UCs of Satellite Town

Rawalpindi: An alarming 4.8 per cent of the total individuals tested under the Localized Hepatitis Elimination and Prevention Project (LHEAP) in as many as 13 union councils of Rawalpindi district has been tested positive for hepatitis while the highest rate of prevalence has been recorded among the population tested in Union Council 15, Satellite Town that is around 13 per cent.

The LHEAP project was launched in Rawalpindi district on July 10 in 2023 initially in four union councils falling under the jurisdiction of Rawal Town that was later expanded to 13 union councils of the district including UCs 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 32, 33, 85, 116 and Miyana Jabbar along with a pilot project.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Friday has revealed that to date, a total of 11320 houses have been visited by the LHEAP teams that have so far tested a total of 54569 persons for hepatitis B and C through a door-to-door campaign. Of 54569 persons screened for hepatitis, as many as 2638 individuals have been found positive for hepatitis including 490 positive for hepatitis B virus, 2080 positive for hepatitis C virus.

Data reveals that out of 9696 persons screened for hepatitis in UC 15, Satellite Town area, total of 1261 individuals have tested positive for hepatitis including 1034 positive for hepatitis C, 211 positive for hepatitis B and 16 positive for both hepatitis B and C. The prevalence rate of hepatitis C among the tested population in Satellite Town area has turned out to be 10.8 per cent while the prevalence rate of hepatitis B has been recorded as 2.3 per cent.

The teams of LHEAP have so far administered a total of 21426 doses of vaccine against hepatitis B while the LHEAP has started providing treatment to as many as 777 patients out of 2638 patients tested positive for hepatitis, said Chief Executive Officer LHEAP Dr. Anser Ishaq while talking to ‘The News’.

He added the LHEAP has started provision of treatment to as many as 683 hepatitis C patients and 92 hepatitis B patients. It is important that the LHEAP project is providing the facilities of testing and treatment free of cost to patients in the selected UCs for hepatitis B and C.

It is worth mentioning here that early detection of hepatitis helps avoiding a number of serious complications particularly among hepatitis C patients as hepatitis C may cause contraction of liver – called cirrhosis – or ascites (distention of abdomen due to accumulation of water) or liver cancer.

The prevalence of hepatitis among the population tested under the LHEAP is alarming mainly because the majority of the patients tested positive under the project were unaware of their status prior to screening.