New Delhi: About 400,000 blood samples infected with Hepatitis have been flagged in government hospitals offering free testing and treatment, according to a government official.
The Union health ministry has screened over 180 million samples since 2018 and more than 400,000 have received free treatment, said L.S. Changsan, additional secretary, ministry of health and family welfare at the 27th Hepatitis Day event organized by the government of Delhi and the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS).
Changsan stressed that more than 344 million people around the world are diagnosed with viral hepatitis, and testing and treatment are unaffordable for most of them. “Since 2018, the government has screened more than 18 crore people, and flagged over four lakh samples of people infected with hepatitis,” said Changsan.
The flagging of hepatitis-infected blood samples assumes importance as individuals may not be aware of the liver infection and may delay treatment. Detection of hepatitis is of utmost importance, said Dr S.K. Sarin, director of ILBS, adding that neglecting treatment may be fatal for infected individuals.
Government’s efforts
The government has provided free-for-all vaccination and treatment services in all Delhi hospitals, said Sarin. The ministry launched a National Viral Hepatitis Control Programe in 2018, offering diagnostic and treatment services for hepatitis C, A and E. Treatment against hepatitis B was included in the programme in 2019.
The Delhi government’s initiative was to raise awareness about the viral disease. “For hepatitis, prevention is truly better than a cure, and we must try to encourage more people to go for regular checkups,” said Sarin, adding that simple and effective methods such as maintaining a clean environment can help in keeping a healthy liver.
Hepatitis, a viral infection which causes inflammation of the liver, is more infective than AIDS, and India has the second highest burden of hepatitis patients in the world after China.
About 40 million Indians are chronically infected with Hepatitis B, and about six to 12 million are infected with Hepatitis C, according to the World health Organisation.
“The virus is most commonly transmitted from mother to child during birth and delivery, in early childhood, as well as through contact with blood or other body fluids during sex with an infected partner, unsafe injections or exposure to sharp instruments,” the WHO said , adding that in 2022, hepatitis B resulted in an estimated 1.1 million deaths, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer).