At KMU, raising awareness about hepatitis C

Since there is no vaccine for the disease, people told to reduce risk of infection through preventive measures.

PESHAWAR:

A seminar was held at the Khyber Medical University (KMU) to raise awareness about the causes, treatments and prevention of hepatitis C.

They keynote speaker, Dr Javed Iqbal, said that people can be saved from “the fatal disease” by safe blood transfusion, proper medical waste disposal and disinfection of surgical tools.

He said the disease is transmitted though blood-to-blood contact with the infected persons or sharing personal items contaminated with infectious blood.

He said the disease can also be transmitted though sexual intercourse with the infected person, but maintained that such incidents are rare.

Dr Javed said hepatitis C cannot be transmitted through breast milk or sharing food and water with infected persons.

The speaker said the common symptoms of the disease include fever, fatigue, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, jaundice and joint pain. However, he cautioned that following initial infection around 80% of people do not exhibit any symptoms.

He clarified that there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The risk of infection can be reduced by taking preventive measures.

Quoting the World Hepatitis Alliance, Dr Iqbal said around 500 million people around the world are infected with either chronic hepatitis B or C and one in every three people have been exposed to one or both viruses.

He said the disease can cause permanent damage to the liver that can also lead to liver cancer. About 150 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus, and more than 350,000 people die every year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases, he added.

Dr Iqbal said countries with high rates of chronic infection are Egypt (22%), Pakistan (4.8%) and China (3.2%).

KMU Director Academics Dr Shad Muhammad Khan urged medical students to create awareness among the people regarding prevention of hepatitis.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2012.