Faisalabad finally coping with Hep-C

Hospitals receive funding to deal with Hepatitis patients.

FAISALABAD:

A total of 608 patients suffering from Hepatitis-C in the district, have been provided medical treatment at the district headquarters hospital under the Hepatitis control program. District Coordinator Hepatitis Control program DHQ, Dr Ahmed Nawaz told reporters that Rs 40.5 million had been allocated for the treatment of Hepatitis C patients in the district.

“This district has some of the highest reported cases of Hepatitis C in the country and hospitals were painfully ill equipped to deal with the situation,” he said.

Nawaz said that 90 per cent of patients had fully recovered from the disease following treatment. He said that the treatment of 570 more patients suffering from Hepatitis-C would be initiated next week in the hospital. “A total of Rs 39.9 million will be spent on administering injections to these patients, 72 injections per patient are required for the complete treatment,” he said. He said that over 200 patients were currently listed in the waiting list. “The treatment of these patients will start based on the availability of injections. The new funds will largely be allocated towards purchasing medicines that we will ensure is consistently available at all major hospitals in the district,” he added. Nawaz said that 800 more patients would be catered to under the same project within the next three months.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2011.