Use of new syringe, healthy food stressed to prevent hepatitis

LAHORE : Speakers at an awareness seminar have stressed the need of using a new syringe every time for injection, avoiding junk and fried food, and using boiled water and eating fresh and clean fruit as prevention against hepatitis.

They were speaking at the seminar jointly organised by the Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (MKRMS) and Ferozsons Laboratories at a local hotel.

The panel of experts comprised noted gastroenterologists Prof Dr Ghais-un-Nabi Tayyab, Head of Department of Medicine and Gastroenterology, Lahore General Hospital, Prof Dr Altaf Alam, Prof Dr Haroon Yousaf and Prof Dr Muhammad Arif Nadeem while other speakers were cartoonist Javed Iqbal, Osman Khalid Waheed, CEO of Ferozsons Laboratories and MKRMS Chairman Wasif Nagi.

Addressing the seminar, Prof Dr Ghais-un-Nabi Tayyab said hepatitis A and E were spreading fast in Pakistan and added hepatitis B and C were spreading because of injections.

Quoting a 2008 survey, he said, 2.4 per cent of people were suffering from hepatitis C while according to the last year’s survey hepatitis C prevalence had reached 8.9 per cent in Punjab which was really alarming.

Prof Dr Altaf Alam said youths mostly suffered from hepatitis E while children suffered from hepatitis A.

He said hepatitis E could be dangerous in the last three months of pregnancy. He said people should avoid visiting quacks for treatment and should not consume junk food and cut fruits. He also said the disease was also spreading because of excessive injections.

Prof Dr Haroon Yousaf said growing cases of hepatitis E had been surfacing in Lahore and added besides ensuring cleanliness the use of boiled water was necessary to avoid hepatitis.

He said hepatitis spread because of use of used razors and syringes. He said vaccine for hepatitis A was available while there was no cure available for hepatitis B but it could be prevented.

Osman Khalid Waheed said the government was making efforts to fight hepatitis but public and private sector and civil society also needed to play their constructive role in this regard.

Wasif Nagi, chairman of MKRMS (Jang Group of Newspapers), said lack of awareness, unhealthy and unhygienic food, polluted environment and substandard medicines were the causes behind growing diseases, including hepatitis in Pakistan.

Prof Dr Muhammad Arif Nadeem said, “Our religion Islam places great emphasis on cleanliness. He said if someone needed to be administered injection, he/she should ensure a new syringe for the purpose.

Prof Dr Rizwan Zafar while observing prevention was better than cure said there was a dire need to create maximum awareness among the masses about timely diagnosis and timely treatment of hepatitis and other diseases.

Javed Iqbal said, “We should start the awareness about diseases, diagnosis and treatment from our homes.”