KARACHI:Vice Chancellor of Dow University of Health Sciences Prof. Mohammed Saeed Quraishy said Sunday that as a nation, we stand at a difficult point, and if preventive measures are not taken in the right direction, we will miss the chance of eliminating hepatitis causing cancer.
“Once again, on World Hepatitis Day 2019, the whole nation stood to promote the eradication of hepatitis by uniting everyone at the private and public levels, that’s the only way we can eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030,” he said while speaking at a seminar organized by National Institute of Liver and GI Diseases (NILGID) for patients and junior doctors on World Hepatitis Day (28thJuly 2019) at Main OPD Seminar Hall, Ojha Campus.
Registrar of Dow University of Health Sciences and specialist of liver and GI diseases Professor Aman Ullah Abbasi, Dr. Nadeem Hassan Director of NILGID, Dr. Tayyab Usmani, Dr. Hafeez Ullah Shaikh, and Dr. Atif Aziz attended the seminar and expressed their point of view regarding the topic.
National Institute of Liver and GI Diseases also organized a walk before beginning the seminar. The walk was led by the Vice Chancellor of DUHS Professor Mohammed Saeed Quraishy which started from the main gate of Dow University Hospital to the OPD block, DUHS. The walk was participated by the Pro-Vice Chancellor of DUHS Prof. Dr. Zarnaz Wahid.
Prof. Mohammed Saeed Quraishy said at the public awareness seminar that hepatitis eradication is known worldwide, as the disease has spread globally. World Health Organization (WHO) has set a deadline for hepatitis eradication from the entire World by 2030. All the organizations including the Government itself should unite and strive to end this deadly disease. People should be informed about the disease and its treatment. He further told that Dow University has all the facilities for the treatment of hepatitis and the last stage of hepatitis disease i.e. liver transplant facility which is its only cure.
Registrar of Dow University of Health Sciences Prof. Aman Ullah Abbasi said in his speech that according to a cautious estimate, the number of hepatitis C patients in Pakistan is around 5 percent (5%). This number is the highest in the world after Egypt. He told that 6.7% of the total population in Punjab, 5% in Sindh, 1.5% in Balochistan and 1.1% in KPK suffers from this disease. He further said that main cause of the outbreak of this disease is reuse of syringes; if we stop the reuse of contaminated syringes, we can save 15 million and 75 thousand of Hepatitis C while 3 million of Hepatitis B sufferers in the country. The rate of hepatitis infection with contaminated and reused syringes is 60%. He concluded his speech saying that Hepatitis C is a silent killer; every Pakistani should have a screening, since its symptoms are similar to other diseases.
Dr. Nadeem Hasan briefed about increase of “Fatty Liver” in his speech. “Fatty liver” is a self-inflicted disease. According to US intellectuals, fast-food chains are, in fact, weapons of mass destruction. Approximately, 17 to 46% of people suffer from fatty liver, the cure of which lies with themselves. The intake of food can be controlled by taking a healthy and balanced diet. He told that if only 10% of weight is reduced then 50% of fatty liver disease will go away on its own.
Dr. Tayyab Usmani said that Hepatitis is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the world. Six out of a million people in Pakistan suffer from this disease. He told that if the wound is less than 7 cm in the liver, it can be removed and treated. He pointed out that there is a shortage of hepatitis A vaccine in the country and this issue should be addressed at government level.
Finally, Prof. Mohammed Saeed Quraishy and Director NILGID Syed Nadeem Hassan distributed the shields to the speakers and organizers.