Pakistan: Hepatitis patients await medicine supply in Punjab

PUNJAB: The patients who have registered with the Hepatitis Control Program in Pakistan's Lahore have been waiting for medicines to complete their course, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to the ARY News, which quoted the Hepatitis Control Program Manager Dr Abid Ghauri, medicines were not bought by the Health department due to high medicine rates.

He added that tender for the purchase of medicine has been issued again and hoped that the supply of medicine will be restored by October 15.

According to details, the lives of the patients registered with the Hepatitis Control Program in Punjab are at stake as the clinics established across Punjab are short of medicines.

Earlier it was reported, at least one person in every family is expected to be suffering from Hepatitis B and C viruses in Pakistan and requires relevant measures to overcome the disease, reported The Express Tribune.

Whereas, medical experts highlighted that according to the Gastroenterology Organization's research report, Pakistan is the third-largest country affected by Hepatitis C in the world, reported The Express Tribune.

It further said that in 2015, 13.40 million deaths occurred in the world due to hepatitis and these figures should be taken seriously. The report also noted that over 111 people die due to Hepatitis B and C every day.

Adding to that, it said that over 1.5 million people are suffering from both diseases in Pakistan, but the majority of them are unaware of it. Zafar further said that Hepatitis B and C are extremely deadly viruses and cause countless diseases and deaths in the world.

Moreover, he added that a majority of Pakistanis do not go for medical checkups due to economic and social problems and also because some of them are not even aware of it, The Express Tribune reported. The professor said that along with creating awareness about the disease, it is also important to include a chapter on Hepatitis B and C in the syllabus.

However, he also stressed the importance of sterilizing instruments used in operation theatres barber shops, and dentists' clinics to prevent the transmission of the virus. Adding to that, he said that barbers working on the roadside and untrained individuals cleaning teeth and ears are the major causes of the rapid spread of this virus.

As per the World Health Organization, out of 71 million people in the world suffering from the Hepatitis C epidemic, 71 million people are in Pakistan, making it 10 per cent of all. Moreover, as a result, 40,000 people die every year, reported The Express Tribune.