Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Prof. Nusrat Shah Tuesday said that in every 16 minutes one Pakistani dies of hepatitis and in every 31 minutes a woman loses her life during child birth.

DUHS Organizes Seminar In Connection With World Hepatitis Day

World Hepatitis Day , He expressed these views while speaking at a seminar at DUHS, which was organized in connection with World Hepatitis Day. The seminar was organized by Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology in collaboration with World Gastroenterology Organization. Prof. Saad Khalid Niaz and Prof. Khalid Mahmood acted chaired the seminar, where Prof. Amanullah Abbasi, Prof. Bader Faiyaz Zuberi, Dr. Huma Qureshi, Dr. Sajjad Jameel, Dr. Abdul Qadir Memon, Dr. Majid presented their papers. Prof. Nusrat Shah said that these tragedies are occurring silently in our society, every day 50 women die during childbirth and around 96 people die silently due to various types of hepatitis. Pakistan was going behind our neighboring countries and we have to think about it and do something.

Dr. Sajjad Jameel said that according to the World Health Organization’s estimates, 100,000 people dies from hepatitis A and 60,000 people from hepatitis E. The death rate was much higher in pregnant women. Hepatitis A accounts for 50 to 60% of acute viral hepatitis in children of Pakistan. Attributed to early exposure, almost 96% of individuals are found to be exposed to Hepatitis A by the age of 5 years. On the other hand, Hepatitis A leads to acute hepatitis in 3.5 to 4% of adults and approximately 98 to 100% adults are exposed to Hepatitis A at adulthood. Hepatitis A is common in young adults. Symptoms of hepatitis A include fever, jaundice, indigestion, severe yellow urine, weakness, vomiting, right sided abdominal pain, nausea, dizziness. Regarding the ways to prevent hepatitis, he said that vaccinations, eating fruits and vegetables after washing, eating well cooked food, using medicines according to the doctor’s instructions, and using washed dishes are included. Giving children 6 times vaccination till the age of 15 months could protect them from 10 deadly diseases.

World Hepatitis Day According to a report of 7 years of a local private hospital in Pakistan, out of 2735 patients with hepatitis, 232 are admitted to the hospital, of which 30 patients suffer from liver failure. He said that being a most common cause of acute hepatitis in adults, Hepatitis E is responsible for acute hepatitis in 20 to 22% among adults and 2.4% among children. The overall mortality rate due to acute hepatitis E ranges 0.4 to 4.0%; however, mortality rate gets much higher in the presence of pregnancy (16-33%) and incase of acute liver failure with HEV in the presence of chronic liver disease. The spread of Hepatitis E is intensifying in Pakistan due to dirty water, sewage water. According to a survey, Sindh, especially Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, are most at risk of hepatitis A and E due to dirty and contaminated water supply.

Dr. Huma Qureshi said that China is among the most affected countries by hepatitis C. Pakistan listed as second most affected country. According to a 2019 report, the risk of getting hepatitis C from blood transfusions is the highest with a rate of 14.8 percent. Second place includes syringe or injection use, hospital history, dental treatment, surgical history etc. According to recent survey of 2020, 164000 new cases of hepatitis C were reported in Pakistan. Eradication of hepatitis C appears impossible at the current rate. He suggested that the provinces need to invest in the elimination of hepatitis C in Pakistan. All patients are tested for hepatitis C in hospitals but those who test positive are not transferred to treatment centers. These patients are missing the opportunity to contact the doctor. He further informed that the best and cheap treatment of Hepatitis C is being done in Pakistan. 98% of people with oral treatment are cured within 12 weeks. Suspected people should get tested so that we can get rid of hepatitis as soon as possible.

Prof. Bader Faiyaz Zuberi said, WHO estimates that 296 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B infection in 2019, with 1.5 million new infections each year. According to the above data, 820 thousand deaths occurred as a result of Hepatitis B in 2019. Most of the deaths were due to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatitis B can be prevented with a safe and effective vaccine. He said that family history also plays an important role in its spread. Family history should not be ignored during the assessment of the patient. Globally, an estimated 51 million people have chronic hepatitis C infection, with approximately half a million new infections occurring each year, including an estimated 3.2 million adolescents and children with chronic hepatitis C infection. Antiviral drugs could cure more than 95 percent of people with hepatitis C infection, but access to diagnosis and treatment is very low.

There was currently no effective vaccine against hepatitis C. He said that all children born to hepatitis C-infected women should be tested for hepatitis C from the age of 18 months. Treatment of hepatitis C during pregnancy is not recommended in the absence of safety and efficacy data. Women infected with hepatitis are not prohibited from breastfeeding, but in case of bleeding from the nipple, it is necessary to consult a specialist. Dr. Abdul Qadir Memon said that in combination with hepatitis B virus, hepatitis D has the highest fatality rate of all the hepatitis infections, at 20%. It is the highest among all types. 48 million people are suffering from this virus. Unfortunately, there are challenges in treating hepatitis delta. Hepatitis delta has remained a neglected disease in the past decades mainly due to the lack of an effective and widely applicable antiviral treatment. The availability of new drugs might be a strong incentive to identify hepatitis delta patients who may benefit from therapy. At the end of the ceremony, Prof. Amanullah Abbasi expressed his gratitude to the guests and Dr. Nusrat Shah presented certificates to the speakers.

Source: This news is originally published by urdupoint

By Web Team

Technology Times Web team handles all matters relevant to website posting and management.