Short supply: Govt hospitals in Pindi stop key hepatitis C test

Sources say they have run out of PRC test kits

RAWALPINDI: At least three public hospitals in Rawalpindi have reportedly stopped conducting a specific test used to diagnose hepatitis C after they had exhausted their quota of kits, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is an easy and cheap tool to quickly multiply a single or a few copies of a DNA which can then be analysed for the presence of diseases.

The test is commonly used to diagnose hepatitis C.

The tests, conducted free of cost for the deserving at public sector hospitals, used to be available at the Holy Family Hospital (HFH), Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), and District Headquarter Hospital (DHQ) in the garrison city for the past four years.

But sources in the hospital revealed that they had stopped conducting the tests recently after they ran out of the kits prematurely.

The HFH reportedly stopped conducting the tests around two months ago. Then the DHQ stopped conducting the tests. Finally, the BBH too stopped conducting the tests after their quota of kits were exhausted as well.



The Punjab government’s health services directorate stopped the process of procuring new kits due to media reports about irregularities in the last purchase.

The reports suggested that the health department had acquired 445 kits for the year 2015-2016 to carry out an estimated 60,520 tests. Each kit, which can conduct 100 tests, costs Rs130,000.

However, the supplier only provided kits to carry out 44,500 tests, allegedly pocketing Rs20.8 million.

Moreover, the supplier did not provide the machine which the government required. Hospitals received the CFX Connect machine to conduct PRC tests for hepatitis C. While the machines themselves were not ‘CE’ certified, the booklets he provided with them were for the CE certified RoboGene machine.

The CE marking is necessary for products manufactured in Europe and sold outside the continent, health officials said.

Doctors and health experts said that the PCR tests were important to diagnose hepatitis-C since one in every 10 persons were said to be suffering from at least one type of the disease.

Conducted free of cost for deserving patients at public hospitals, each PRC test at private laboratories costs between Rs13,000 to Rs15,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2016.