Alarm bells: Hepatitis today, cancer tomorrow

March 11, 2011

http://tribune.com.pk/story/130289/alarm-bells-hepatitis-today-cancer-tomorrow/

By Sehrish Wasif

Published: March 10, 2011

ISLAMABAD:

Hepatitis B and C are spreading in the country very rapidly. Oncologists fear

that liver cancer, which is caused by the two, will get more common if necessary

steps are not taken to address the issue.

Despite the fact that Hepatitis B vaccination is included in the National

Immunization Program, the government has failed to control its spread, said an

official on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Health there is a high prevalence of Hepatitis B

and C in Pakistan with the number of affected people standing at 15 million.

Hepatitis Control Program figures reveal that the number of deaths caused by the

disease in the country is higher than the fatalities resulting from terrorist

acts every year. To know more about the two diseases, The Express Tribune talked

to senior oncologists including Dr Muhammad Faheem, head of Oncology Department

at Nuclear Oncology and Radiotherapy Institute, Dr Qasim Mehmood, assistant

professor of Medical Oncology at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims),

and Dr Mohammad Ali Afridi from Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.

Untreated, patients of Hepatitis B and C can develop hepatocellular carcinoma

(HCC), commonly known as liver cancer, they said.

According to a study conducted by the medical Unit-III Ward-7, Jinnah

Postgraduate Medical Centre, in 2008, the incidence of HCC is estimated to be

eight in every 100,000 people per annum.

Dr Afridi said every month about four to five patients, in the last stages of

liver cancer, visit him.

“The vaccination of Hepatitis B is available in the market and its complete

course costs Rs2,500 to 3,000, which is unfortunately unaffordable for many in

Pakistan,” he said.

He added that liver transplant could be one possibly way to deal with the

cancer, but Pakistan currently lacks such a facility.

Talking to The Express Tribune, a specialist dealing with Gastroenteritis in

Pims said every day about half of patients visiting the outpatient department of

the hospital complain of problems due to hepatitis. The doctor said the average

treatment cost of diseases due to hepatitis ranges between Rs 300,000 to Rs

700,000 per patient.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Aftab Mohsin, national program manager for

Hepatitis Prevention and Control, said the Hepatitis B vaccination is given to

children and to individuals at a higher risk such as doctors and paramedic

staff.

“But due to the resources constraint the coverage of vaccination is limited,

which is the main hurdle behind [the rapid spread of Hepatitis B and C] in the

country,” he said.

Besides the lack of public awareness on how to prevent against the two diseases,

improper sterilisation of medical devices and reusing syringes are other two

major reasons behind the massive spread.

Considering the increase in the burden of hepatitis in the country Ministry of

Health has decided to provide equipments for safe disposal of waste to 37 health

institutes in the capital including Pims, Polyclinic Hospital, Capital

Development Authority hospitals, rural health units and basic health units, said

an official.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2011.

March 11, 2011