Hepatitis E on the rise in Punjab

LAHORE: Some 13 million people in Pakistan suffer from hepatitis and nine million of them have hepatitis C which is 5 per cent of the population while 4.5 million have hepatitis B which represents 2.5 per cent of the population. But it’s hepatitis E that is widespread in Punjab, particularly in Lahore with very high mortality rate among pregnant women. This was stated by gastroenterologist and haematologist at Mayo Hospital, Dr Adeel Qamar. He said the Hepatitis Prevention and Treatment Centre at Mayo Hospital receives 80 patients a day on average. Fecal transmission, poor sanitation and travel to endemic areas are cited as the main reason for the upsurge for hepatitis A and E. Hepatitis B and C are caused by blood transfusions, infected needle, repeated use of syringes, accidents, abrasions and mother to baby transmission.

According to WHO, 400 million population is infected with hepatitis B and 180 million population is infected with hepatitis C. In Egypt, hepatitis C is prevalent among 13 per cent population while Mangolia has the highest hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence followed by Uzbekistan and Pakistan.