Rapid spread of Hepatitis

A report prepared by the Ministry of Science and Technology has revealed that Hepatitis B and C have infected 18 percent of Pakistan's population, and that in another 10-15 years Hepatitis C will have infected 30 percent of the Pakistanis. The findings are truly alarming, to say the least.
The rapid progression of the deadly virus is apparent from the fact that 80 percent of the people develop chronic infection from persons who have already contracted the disease. In Pakistan 10 percent of the people fall victim to the virus every year, with eight percent of them eventually dying of it, which represents a very high mortality rate.
Predictions by health professionals indicate that in the next 10 to 15 years there will be 50 percent increase in the need for transplantation of liver and 20 percent increase in liver death rate. A particularly worrying aspect of the problem is that Hepatitis B virus, carried by about eight percent of the people, spreads 100 times faster than AIDS.
This in a way makes HBV a more dangerous virus than even the AIDS. Incidentally, liver transplant, which a chronic HCV patient requires, is a more complicated and expensive surgical procedure than even a heart transplant. Chronic Hepatitis, though much less common than acute Hepatitis, can persist for years, even for decades.
In most people it is quite mild and does not cause significant liver damage. In some patients, though, continued inflammation slowly damages liver cells, eventually producing cirrhosis (severe scarring of the liver), liver failure and at times liver cancer.
Hepatitis means swelling or inflammation of the liver. Five types of Hepatitis - A, B, C, D and E, have been identified, though their modes of progression vary greatly. For instance, A and E strains are spread mostly by faeco-oral routes, and as such contaminated water supply is said to be its major cause.
About one-third of the people with chronic Hepatitis develop the disease after a severe bout of acute viral Hepatitis. The remaining two-thirds develop the disease gradually without any obvious symptoms, although most cases of chronic Hepatitis are still caused by one of the viruses. Hepatitis C virus is the most common cause of chronic Hepatitis, and at least 75 percent of acute Hepatitis cases become chronic.
According to a WHO report, there are 170 million Hepatitis C carriers in the world. Further, HCV is a blood-borne viral infection, ie the virus is spread when blood from an infected individual gets into the bloodstream of another person. It is said that the virus also gets transmitted through use of contaminated syringes, razors and toothbrushes. As in case of all other diseases, early detection and diagnosis of Hepatitis improves the chances of its treatment.
There is an acute shortage of diagnostic and treatment facilities of the disease in the country, but those available at some highbrow private clinics are clearly out of reach for majority of the people.
There is thus a need to establish more such facilities in the public sector. As Hepatitis patients feel chronic fatigue, their productivity is seriously affected, which causes loss of countless man-hours annually in both industrial and agricultural sectors.
According to medical experts, diseases of rapid dissemination such as Hepatitis, require highly sensitive and timely surveillance systems to enable health authorities to take immediate preventive action. Fortunately, effective anti-hepatitis vaccines have been developed and are available in the market.
The government should launch a countrywide anti-hepatitis vaccination campaign to stop spread of this potentially fatal disease. The government should also launch an awareness campaign in the print and electronic media to educate the people about preventive measures they can take to protect themselves. It should take these steps without any loss of time.