Hepatitis exacting heavy toll

Several Punjab districts are at high risk with millions of patients

LAHORE:

The World Hepatitis Day is being observed this year with the slogan ‘I can't wait’ to highlight the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of the disease amidst concerns among health experts over Pakistan remaining among countries where the ailment has spread in recent years.  

According to an estimate, around 20 million people in the country are suffering from hepatitis B or C, while 150,000 new cases are reported every year.

Punjab has the highest number of patients in the country and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified the Lahore, Okara, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Rahim Yar khan and Gujranwala districts along with Islamabad at a high risk of a rapid spread of hepatitis B and C.

According to a pharmaceutical company, there are 11 million people suffering from hepatitis C and five million from hepatitis B in the province. On the other hand, the Punjab Hepatitis Control Programme is facing shortage of funds and lack of government focus on addressing the issue.

World Hepatitis Day is observed on July 28 every year to raise awareness about the disease. A number of hospitals in Punjab organise awareness programmes and seminars to mark the day but practical steps to stop the increasing spread of the disease does not appear to be a priority of the provincial government and its health department. Pakistan reportedly has the second highest number of hepatitis patients in the world. "We are facing shortage of funds, while no government in Punjab has prioritised the programme for prevention and control on the increasing prevalence of hepatitis,” a senior official of Punjab health department told The Express Tribune.

He said even a survey to ascertain the number of hepatitis patients in the province had not been conducted during the past decade. The official said the Planning and Development Board of Punjab government had prepared a report this year about the programme’s failure, revealing that no strategy or plan had been prepared and step taken during the past four years to counter hepatitis in the province.

The report highlighted that the ratio of hepatitis patients in Punjab had increased in recent years, including an alarming increase in hepatitis C and B cases.

It highlighted that the number of hepatitis patients in Punjab had increased by 408,653 annually. “The report indicated that the situation with regard to hepatitis is serious in several districts of Punjab.

It has been presented to various government authorities but no step has been taken address the situation,” the official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2022.