LAHORE: Around two million people are infected with hepatitis in Pakistan. The government has been taking measures to control the disease and to meet this purpose 170,000 people went through screening and 110,000 people were vaccinated. Hepatitis control programme has been revamped and legislation is being done.
These views were expressed by the speakers at the seminar on “Awareness seminar on Hepatitis” jointly organised by Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology, Feroz Sons Laboratories and Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (Jang Group of Newspapers).Khawaja Salman Rafique, Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir were chief guests.
Guests of Honour Secretary Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Najam Ahmad Shah, Consultant gastroenterologist and former Dean Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore Professor Dr Anwar Ahmad Khan, Consultant gastroenterologist Jinnah Hospital Lahore Professor Dr Arif Muhammad Siddiqui, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology Sheikh Zayed Hospital Dr Kashif Malik, expert in liver and stomach Lahore Medical and Dental College Lahore
Dr Nusratullah Chaudhry, Consultant gastroenterologist Shalimar Hospital Lahore Dr Haroon Yousaf, gastroenterologist Prof Dr Arif Nadeem, gastroenterologist Jinnah Hospital Lahore Dr Khalid Mahmood, Consultant gastroenterologist Lahore General Hospitals Dr Israr Toor and others attended the seminar.
District Headquarters teaching hospital DG Khan Dr Kashif Ali, Prof Qazi Masroor Ali of BWP, Dr Waseem Malghani of Nishtar Hospital Multan, Dr Qasim of Khawaja Safdar Medical College Sialkot, Consultant gastroenterologist and liver disease Punjab Medical College Dr Moeez Akhtar, Dr Muhammad Khan of Sargodha, Dr Irfan of Nawaz Sharif Medical College Multan, Dr Mahmood of Gujranwala Medical College, Dr Irfan of Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahimyar Khan were contacted through a video link.
Khawaja Salman Rafique said hepatitis has become a challenge for us but measures have been taken to control it. Clinics have been revamped and vaccines for eradication of hepatitis are available in clinics. According to him, all facilities are available under one roof of PKLI. Livers transplant will be held in Pakistan now. There is no need to visit India and China for liver transplantation.
Khawaja Imran Nazir said that 170,000 people went through screening and 110,000 people were vaccinated. We need to change our attitude towards hepatitis. If one person is infected with hepatitis whole family suffers, he said.
Najam Ahmad Shah said, we need more law to eliminate quacks. Hepatitis is alarming for us.Usman Khalid Waheed said two million people are infected with hepatitis in the country. Our public health system has badly affected but it is curable. More than two lakh patients were provided medicines free-of-cost, he said.
Prof Dr Ghayas-un-Nabi Tayyab said it is our mission to root out hepatitis until 2030. Specialised healthcare department is doing well in this regard. Dr Anwar said we can have screening of only 10 percent people. We don’t know about remaining 90 percent. Hepatitis transfers through blood. Pakistan is only country where syringe is being used on large scale.
Dr Nusratullah Chaudhry said the people reside in rural areas are more infected with hepatitis. Living style of villagers is major reason of the disease as repeated use of shaving blade transfers disease from one person to another, he said. Dr Arif Mahmood Siddique said prevention is better than cure.
Senior Editor, Health, Education and Current Affairs Wasif Nagi elaborated that less awareness is a major cause of the disease. The government needed to create awareness at massive level. The ratio of hepatitis patients is increasing with the passage of time and the government will have to play its role in eliminating the disease.
Dr Sehrish said quacks are promoting the disease, while Dr Israr said unnecessary drips must be avoided. Dr Irfan said endoscopy is being done in Rahimyar Khan where hepatitis patients have been treated since 2006.
Dr Mahbood, Dr Muhammad Shahid, Dr Muhammad Khan, Dr Irfan, Dr Moeez, Dr Waseem, Dr Qasim, Dr Kashif and others also spoke on the occasion.
