KARACHI: Hepatitis C patients have continued to suffer in Sindh province as no drugs are available in Hepatitis Centers being run by Hepatitis Prevention and Control Program for past two months.
Reliable sources in Hepatitis Prevention and Control Program, Sindh (Chief Minister Initiative) told PPI that more than 8,000 newly registered hepatitis C patients throughout the province have been put on waiting list by the doctors due to shortage of medicines.
Similarly, score of under treatment patients have also been put on hold due to unavailability of drugs. The registered patients at Hepatitis Centres Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Sindh Government Qatar Hospital and Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad and other government hospitals are not getting medicines for over two months, which has put hundreds of lives at stake.
The registered patients in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur and other districts of province have been visiting the Hepatitis Centres on regular basis to get medicines for two months but they are asked by doctors to buy drugs from private medical stores as supply has not started from Sindh Hepatitis Program to the centers as yet.
The shortage of medicines has badly affected program performance as treatment of hepatitis patients is very costly and majority of patients could not afford treatment of their disease.
The Hepatitis Centre at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi has been registering 40 to 50 new hepatitis C patients on daily basis but they are not getting treatment due to shortage of medicines.
Media Coordinator, Hepatitis Prevention and Control Program, Sindh, Khurram Khan was not available for comment.