Hepatitis

Critical illness

Dr. Jameela Asif
According to the latest report of the World Health Organization, the highest number of hepatitis C patients in the world are in Pakistan, whose number is 8.8 million. With the inclusion of 3.8 million hepatitis B victims, this number becomes 1.26 million. These numbers Describing the number as alarming, Pakistan Medical Association has demanded the government to conduct awareness and elimination campaign against hepatitis at the national level.

According to the World Health Organization, among the different types of hepatitis, “C” and “B” are the most dangerous and Pakistan is among the five countries where these two viruses are most prevalent.
However, there is no reliable data available to clarify how many Pakistanis die each year due to various types of hepatitis.

Various estimates and unofficial reports put the number in the millions.
According to Professor Dr. Zaigham Abbas, President of Gastroenterology Department at Ziauddin University Hospital, Karachi, approximately 120,000 people die of hepatitis in Pakistan every year.
According to a research report published in the National Library of Medicine named “Hepatitis is Still a Major Health Concern Short Communication”, between 2015 and 2019, deaths due to hepatitis C and hepatitis B in Pakistan have increased by five and eight percent, respectively. has happened
During these four years, only about 350,000 patients were screened out of which only 163,000 approached different hospitals for treatment.
According to this study, the minimum target of WHO is that 90% of newborns in every country must be vaccinated against hepatitis B. But in Pakistan, this rate was only 77% during 2020.
According to a recent study published in the name of “National Registry in Tropical Medicine and Health in Pakistan Need for Hepatitis Control”, to eliminate hepatitis by 2030, Pakistan will have to conduct 18 million tests and treat 11 million people annually. will happen
According to a research report published by the Pakistan Health Research Council, Risk Factors of Hepatitis C in Pakistan, injection and blood are the most responsible for the spread of hepatitis C.
In the past, a person who used to get four to five injections a year had a nine to eleven percent higher chance of contracting hepatitis C. Also, blood transfusions, surgical operations, and cuts from barbers are common causes.