HYDERABAD: Health department Sindh observed the World Day of Control and Prevention of Hepatitis with a walk from director’s general health office to the Indus hotel. Participants were carrying cards to create awareness for control and prevention. Later a seminar was also held here Thursday.
While addressing the seminar, Dr. Zulfiqar Dharejo said the aim to observing the world day of Hepatitis was to create awareness among the people of Sindh about this epidemic. He said at present this epidemic was among 8 deadly diseases in the world with 257 million patients. In Pakistan this disease was at No 2 in the whole world while Egypt was at No.1. He said World Health Organization has given the slogan of “I will not wait and would immediately get a test of Hepatitis”.
The Sindh government was also working on this slogan with a desire to bring an end to this disease in the province. He said according to Pakistan Medical Research Council, one million people were suffering from Hepatitis B while 2 million from Hepatitis C. Keeping this in view Sindh government launched an anti-hepatitis program in 2009 aimed to save the poor people of Sindh from this deadly disease through free treatment of patients. He said at present 63 treatment centers and 19 vaccination centers were working in Sindh against this disease. He said from 2009 to this day 35,045 patients of Hep.B 275947 Hep C and 3,288 patients of Hep D have been treated completely. Apart from these 15,086 patients of Hep B, nearly 7,938 patients of Hep C and 603 Hep D patients were under treatment. He added that as many as 9.3 million patients were also vaccinated against HepB including 2.3 million school children and teachers.
Dr. Dharejo said WHO has given the target of 2030 of no Hepatitis on which Sindh government was working fastly. Commissioner Hyderabad Nadim Rehman Memon, Dr. Bikharam ex-vice chancellor of LUMHS, Dr. Lala Jaffer DHO, and others also spoke on the occasion.
