KARACHI: Pakistan has become home to the highest number of people affected by the hepatitis C virus, with nearly half a million people infected with the virus since 2015, JEE News reported on Friday.
Dr. Homi Rizvi, an epidemiologist at the Center for Disease Analysis (CDA) in the US, claimed that about 10 million people in Pakistan are infected with the hepatitis C virus, making it the highest in the world.
“Pakistan is now home to the world’s largest population of hepatitis C patients, even surpassing China, India and Nigeria. We have been working with various provincial health departments in Pakistan for the past two years. and after detailed research and analysis we found that nearly half a million new hepatitis C infections are emerging in Pakistan from 2015 to 2021. The total number of hepatitis C patients is estimated to be 10 million in Pakistan, which is the highest in the world. I am the most,” Dr. Rizvi told a news briefing in Karachi.
American and Pakistani experts say that more than 15 million people in Pakistan are infected with hepatitis B and C, making hepatitis the number one infectious disease killer. Both viral infections are blood-borne diseases spread through unsafe injections, and unsanitary practices in hospitals, dental clinics and tattoo parlors, among other causes, he added.
Experts also urge women of childbearing age to be vaccinated against hepatitis E. The unprecedented flooding has increased the spread of hepatitis E, exposing more than 75,000 expectant mothers to the potentially deadly virus.
Dr. Rizvi was accompanied by renowned Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist Dr. Zagham Abbas, Gilad Sciences Senior Director Medical Affairs Aisan Murtaza Oglu, Sindh Hepatitis Control Program Dr. Zulfikar Dhrigo and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Firozsons Laboratories Limited Khalid Wazeem Usman. .
“The good news is that Hepatitis C is a curable infection and Hepatitis C treatment is the cheapest in Pakistan as compared to the rest of the world. Anyone who is infected with Hepatitis C can get rid of the virus within three months. There are drugs”, said the American expert.
Dr. Rizvi said Pakistan could learn from Egypt, which had the fourth-highest burden of hepatitis C cases in 2015 but now ranks 17th, adding that it had launched a national program to screen its entire population. Initiated and treated all those affected by the infection. .
Dr Amina Subhan of the Aga Khan University Hospital said, “Overuse of injections with used syringes, unsafe blood transfusions and sharing of razors and poor prevention and control of infection are some of the ways hepatitis B and C are transmitted. “Mother-to-child transmission and lack of hepatitis B vaccination is also a reason for its spread.”
Prof. Saeed Hamid, a renowned gastroenterologist associated with AKUH, said that the Pakistan Society for the Study of Liver Diseases (PSSLD) has proposed a $250-350 million program to eradicate 7 million hepatitis C infections and it has been approved by the government. has been submitted for approval. Meanwhile, infections are increasing every minute and every 20 minutes a precious life is being lost to this dreaded disease.
Waheed said that the number of new cases of hepatitis C is increasing every year and it can be checked by avoiding unnecessary expenses.
