Proficient treatment

Pakistan is plagued with many dangerous diseases that take lives more than the numbers that one sees in reports

Pakistan is plagued with many dangerous diseases that take the lives of its citizens more than the numbers that one sees in reports after a terrorist attack. Hepatitis is one of them. Termed a silent killer and far more dangerous than terrorism, around 15 million Pakistanis are infected with Hepatitis — especially B and C. That is 80 per cent of the total Hepatitis cases in the Eastern Mediterranean region where it remains second for the most number of patients after China. One of the debilitating issues with the diagnosis of Hepatitis is that it takes at least 30 years for symptoms to appear. This prevents patients from seeking early interventions. In a seminar held on the World Hepatitis Day on July 28^th, Prof Muneer Ahmad Junejo of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences said that there are currently 90 per cent people living with Hepatitis B and 80 per cent with Hepatitis C who are unaware of their status. This could result in patients developing fatal liver disease or unknowingly transmitting the infection, if left untreated.

But despite the increasing numbers of such cases little is being done by the incumbent government to draw out measures and policies to reduce the spread of the disease. A latest treatment that can significantly help upon diagnosis also awaits approval from the prime minister. The treatment for Hepatitis C has been approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan which promises to treat patients within three months and at a lower cost. But the PM hasn’t given his approval for the import of required drugs, a decision that has put the lives of every 10^th person in the country that is infected with the disease at risk. With members of the new cabinet being sworn in, the prime minister is requested to act quickly and systematically. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2017.

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