KARACHI: Sharing their concerns over the high prevalence of hepatitis in the country, experts said on Wednesday that Pakistan had the second highest burden of hepatitis C virus infection in the world and its cases were on the rise amid a decline in the number of hepatitis B cases. Both infections combined claimed lives of around 30,000 to 35,000 people every year.

A major barrier in tackling the health challenge, they pointed out, was thatthe majority of the infected patients were unaware of their hepatitis status.

They were speaking to Dawn in connection with World Hepatitis Day which is being observed today (July 28). The theme of this year is Bringing hepatitis care closer to you.

`Often, people don`t get tested out of their misplaced fear that they would have to go through painful treatment, if their results came positive. They don`t know that now inexpensive, painless treatment is available with complete recovery in three months,` Dr Huma Qureshi, senior gastroenterologist and National Focal Person for Hepatitis, explained.

Describing hepatitis C as a silent killer, she said the infection remained in the body for years with no symptoms. Delayed diagnoses resulted in chronic liver disease, primary livercancer, and cirrhosis.

`This is why it`s important that people get themselves screened for the infection, voluntarily. Earlier, patients were administered with injections, a painful treatment. But, now we have tablets that can easily be taken for a few months and the results are very positive.

On the government-run hepatitis control programme, she said it needed to be run on sustainable grounds as facilities for free diagnosis and treatment were occasionally suspended due to insufficient funds, causing huge inconvenience to patients.

Liver cancer risk According to Dr Saeed Hamid, senior consultant gastroenterologist at Aga Khan University Hospital, there arenearly 10 million people actively infected with hepatitis C in the country and need treatment.

`However, only about 21 per cent have been diagnosed, so far, and only 13-15pc treated. The biggest challenge is to diagnose the many millions that need treatment. Same story goes for hepatitis B. Together, these chronic viral infections increase the risk of liver cancer in these patients by 15 to 20 fold,` he said.

Liver cancer was the second commonest cause of cancer deaths in our country, he added.

About the risk posed by hepatitis E, he said, it could become a serious, life threatening illness in pregnant women and in patients with chronic liver disease.

`These two groups need to be protected from this infection throughensuring safe water and food supplies. A vaccine for prevention of hepatitis E is also now available in Pakistan,` he said.

Senior gastroenterologist Dr Zahid Azam, also medical superintendent at the Dow University Hospital, was of the opinion that new cases of both hepatitis B and hepatitis C were declining (in Karachi) mainly due to the availability of hepatitis B vaccine and good medicine for hepatitis C with 90pc response rate.

`A positive step taken in the Musharraf government was to make hepatitis B vaccination part of the EPI programme, which has led to a decline in new cases.

Dr Azam believed that the risk factors for liver disease in the coming years would be obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol level and blood pressure, also risk factorsforheart diseases.