Our problem is not Aids, it’s hepatitis

Our problem is not Aids, it’s hepatitis, say experts fed up with seminars but no action

Nine per cent of Pakistanis are infected by hepatitis categories B and C, for which the government claims to have poured in millions of rupees in various initiatives and campaigns to rid the country of the endemic.

KARACHI:
The number of infants, children and young adults dying of preventable infectious diseases continues to rise even though the government claims to have pumped in millions of rupees in various initiatives and campaigns, promising to rid the nation of the multitude of diseases that plague it.

Hepatitis, particularly the B and C, are taking more victims into their fatal fold as experts say about nine per cent of Pakistanis are infected by these categories. Of this, six per cent are infected by hepatitis C while about three per cent are Hep B. “Our problem is not Aids but hepatitis. In fact, according to experts hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV,” says consultant gastroenterologist at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) Dr Zaigham Abbas. He was speaking at a seminar titled ‘Reality of Hepatitis – Today and Tomorrow’ organised by the Express Media Group on Monday.
But this isn’t just Pakistan’s problem. Worldwide, a million people die every year due to the disease, about 80% from hepatitis B and the remaining from hepatitis C. However, the high incidence in the country is also blamed on a lack of awareness.
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Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2011.