'50 pc of State's population unvaccinated for Hepatitis B'
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 25 2019: In light of 1.4 million deaths caused annually out of 325 million people affected globally by viral hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV), it is unnerving to find that 50 percent of the State's population are estimated to be still unvaccinated for Hepatitis B owing to lack of proper awareness, among other factors.

As informed by JNIMS Assistant Professor and Hepatologist, Dr N Suraj, children born at home are most likely to be deprived of hepatitis B vaccination in the State even if Hepatitis B vaccination is being included in Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) in all the States of India, including Manipur.

He continued that vaccination is the best way to prevent HBV although there is no vaccine for prevention of HCV and added that the number of deaths caused by HBV and HCV is even more than that of the deaths caused by HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Saying that 10 percent of the total number of viral hepatitis infection are newly infected, he conveyed that 80 percent of the people infected by viral hepatitis do not know that they are infected.

He also said that many people who are infected with viral hepatitis, particularly HBV and HCV, often refrain from disclosing about their disease or seek treatment owing to the high stigmatization in the society.

Highlighting that report culled from RIMS estimates that at least 1.5 percent of the total population of the State have been infected by HCV, Suraj pointed out that 75 to 90 percent of IDUs in the State are also co-infected with HCV and HIV.

He then underscored the need for eliminating viral hepatitis in the State saying that ignoring and delaying treatment of viral hepatitis will only result in the increase in the prevalence rate of viral hepatitis with the disease rapidly spreading to other un-infected people.

Conveying that the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme (NVHCP), which was implemented on July 28 last year in New Delhi, will be rolled out in Manipur on July 28 this year, Suraj urged the public to come out and reap the benefits of the said programme by getting free screening and taking further treatment if needed.

Suraj also claimed that NVHCP will be initially rolled out at RIMS and JNIMS as the treatment model centre for the programme, and added that medicines will be distributed to the patients on the same day.

Informing that this year's theme for World Hepatitis Day will be "Invest in eliminating viral hepatitis", Suraj noted that NVHCP is being implemented pan India in line with the target of 90 percent elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030 .

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