Monday, December 3, 2018

Millions flock to free tests as Egypt seeks to eradicate hepatitis C

Millions flock to free tests as Egypt seeks to eradicate hepatitis C
Mahmoud Mourad, Lena Masri
MIT NAMA (Reuters) - When Houaida Mabrouk heard about a government campaign that offers free hepatitis C screenings, she hesitated, afraid of testing positive. But after many from her community started visiting health clinics to get checked, she changed her mind.

“I thought, ‘I should go too’,” Mabrouk said, speaking at a clinic in the Mit Nama village near Cairo before learning she did not have the virus.

Egypt, which has the highest rate of hepatitis C in the world, is carrying out an unprecedented campaign to detect and treat the disease in a bid to eliminate it by 2022. It aims to test the entire adult population — about 50 million people.

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