15 Mln People In Pakistan Infected With Hepatitis B And C: Director NILGID

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jul, 2020 ) :Director National Institute of liver and Gastro Intestinal Disease (NILGID) Dr. Nadeem Syed Hassan on Wednesday said 15 million people in Pakistan are infected with hepatitis B and C, which is increasing rapidly.

He was speaking at webinar in Dow University of Health Science under the department of NILGID, said a statement.

Dr. Nadeem said that use of injections is four times more in Pakistan than in the rest of the world, just because of people of generally believe that it heals quickly while in Pakistan 17 to 50 per cent of syringes are recycled and used. Which is the main reason for the increase in Hepatitis in Pakistan, he observed.

While Medical Superintendent Prof. Zahid Azam, Assistant Prof. Tayyab Usmani, Assistant Prof. Sabihta Shabir, Assistant Prof. Abdullah Bin Khalid and Assistant Prof. Kelash also addressed to the webinar.

Dr. Nadeem said that according to a survey which is conducted in 2007-8, in Pakistan 2.5 per cent people are infected with hepatitis B and 4.8 per cent with hepatitis C while according to recent survey which is conducted in only Panjab, 17 per cent of people are infected with Hepatitis C while 2.2 per cent are infected with Hepatitis B.

The reason is includes unsafe blood transfusion, unsafe physical relationship, unhygienic dental instruments and other instruments and unnecessary use of injections.

In Pakistan unnecessary use of injections cause 800 people in Pakistan infected with HIV, of which 82 per cent were children.

He said hospital waste material should be disposed of properly. specially, the needle of the syringes should be cut off so that it cannot be reused.

Medical superintendent of Dow Hospital Prof. Zahid Azam said that hepatitis is a silent killer because of initially, the symptoms do not appears and every Pakistani should get tested for hepatitis because with timely diagnosis, this deadly disease can be easily treated.

Addressing the webinar, Assistant Professor Tayyab Usmani said that if a person has had hepatitis for more than six months, we call it chronic disease, it can be treated, as the symptoms do not appear in the beginning that is why it is important to get tested.

Early ages, hepatitis can be dangerous, such a patient should be examined from time to time because the liver begins shrink in a period of 2 to 8 years and this causes stiffness in the liver and the liver stop working. In this case, the liver needs to be transplanted.

He said hepatitis B can be passed from a pregnant mother to a newborn baby while a breastfed baby will be safe if fully vaccinated.

He said shaking hand, hugging and eating together do not spread the disease.

He said unfortunately, there are all types of hepatitis exist in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Assistant Prof. Sabihta Shabbir said the first cause of liver failure in the last few years is the fatty liver. About 40 per cent of people with liver disease suffering from fatty liver. This causes severe damage to the liver and slowly stops working, she added.

She said that 10 to 20 per cent of people in Pakistan suffering from fatty liver.

She said that about 70 per cent of obese people suffering from fatty liver while thirty percent of diabetic patient also suffer from fatty liver. This disease usually has the same symptoms as nausea, loss of appetite, weakness in body, loss of weight, abdominal pain, nervousness, dizziness which also happens in other disease, she said.

She said that we need to improve our daily routine, daily exercise, use of fresh juices, fresh food and avoid junk food. It can significantly reduce the severity of the disease.

She said in this disease the patient health is in the hand of patient more than the doctor by improving routine life.

Addressing the webinar, Dr. Abdullah bin Khalid said that usually when patient infected from hepatitis and its takes 10 to 15 years for the liver to begin to shrink and symptoms do not appear at first.

But the contraction of the liver, there are symptoms of bleeding in the vomit, water in stomach and drowsiness and it needs to be treated in timely manner, he said.

He said that in particularly, a patient with drowsiness has only six months to live, which is cured with immediate treatment while bleeding in the vomit cause 20 death out of 100. All treatment of liver disease are well done in the hospital, he added.

At this occasion Assistant Prof. Kelash said transplant can save lives when the liver stops working in hepatitis.

In Pakistan, the donor is usually a close relative while the practice of donating outside Pakistan is common.

He said that the patient usually stay in the hospital for 12 days while the donor has stay in the hospital for a week.

He said that the reason for the increase in liver transplant in Pakistan is the increase in the number of patients and doctor usually try to protect patient from surgery as surgery has its own risks.