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5% in Pakistan have HCV, 7-8 Million People
 
 
  Things you thought you knew about Hepatitis B and C, but didn't
 
Staff Report
June 3, 2007
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk
 
KARACHI: Five percent of the population are carriers of hepatitis C, which means around seven to eight million people have the disease, said Dr Saad Khalid, speaking on "misconceptions that need rectification", at a public awareness program on hepatitis day. The program was organised by the Pakistan Medical Association and Pakistan Society of Gastroenterologists.
 
Those who received blood transfusions before blood screening was introduced in the mid-90s are high-risk, as are drug addicts, medical professionals and people on dialysis. These people should get blood tests to confirm whether they have the disease or not.
 
The liver is not necessarily damaged in all hepatitis C cases. On the contrary, the livers of only 20 percent who suffer the last stage of the disease is damaged, which may take anywhere between 10 to 40 years.
 
The majority of patients in Pakistan are diagnosed accidentally and most of them are blood donors. Most patients don't have any obvious symptoms and over 90 to 95 percent of the people suffering form hepatitis C don't have jaundice.
 
The serological test for hepatitis C only tells whether the virus is positive or not, but does not show whether the virus is active. It is also a false belief that all the patients die suffering from the disease. Nine out of ten adults who suffer from hepatitis B get rid of the virus naturally.
 
Most patients all over the world don't even know that they have the virus. It is false that liver biopsies cause the spread of the virus and that they are the only way to gauge the disease's severity. Not everybody needs treatment and not everyone is suitable for it, as treating people with advanced hepatitis C is futile.
 
The only scientifically proven treatment for eradicating hepatitis C is injections of Interferon with Ribavirin tablets. Regular Interferon has improved hepatitis type 2 and 3 cases and it costs 50 to 60 thousand rupees for six months. The majority of Pakistani patients have hepatitis C type 2 and type 3, which requires treatment for six months while the type 1 hepatitis needs one year's treatment.
 
The disease gets out of control when it becomes advanced, and people learn about it very late. In Pakistan the disease is spread most commonly through blood products, injections and improperly done blood screenings, especially a problem in rural areas and some parts of the city.
 
Many falsely believe that touching patients could spread the disease. The disease is not spread through plates, forks, spoons or bed sheets, he said. Most barbers, jewelers and tattoo makers don't know that piercing a used needle into someone could infect them. There are no dietary restrictions for patients except those who have advanced hepatitis C. No scientific proof that homeopathic treatment is beneficial to patients exists.
 
While both hepatitis B and C share the same modes of transmission, hepatitis B takes two months to show up in the blood of a patient, said Dr Bader Faiyaz. The blood of mother and infant does not mix during pregnancy and the transmission of the disease from mother to child is minimal, but during delivery there is a moment when the blood mixes. To prevent the newborn from being infected a hepatitis B vaccine and a hemoglobin injection are given during the first 12 hours after the delivery. After six months the child is tested. Ninety percent of children become carriers of the virus if they are not vaccinated at the time of birth.
 
Some people attempt to treat hepatitis B using hakims' medicines, which are not even tested. Misconceptions about the spread, prevention and treatment of the disease can be as damaging as the disease itself, said Khalid.
 
 
 
 
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