KARACHI:Health experts Wednesday said Hepatitis B and C are major public health problems for Pakistan, but both can be controlled and cured completely through advanced treatment facilities in the country.
This was stated by experts and office-bearers of Pakistan Society for Study of Liver Diseases (PSSLD) at a seminar held to mark the World Hepatitis Day 2019 with the theme of “Find the missing million”.
The seminar was organized by PSSLD in collaboration with leading medical universities and hospitals including Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi, Baqai Medical University Karachi, Hamdard University, Jinnah Memorial Hospital Rawalpindi, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and others.
Experts said there had been major advance in the treatment of hepatitis B and C viral infections in the recent times. In most patients, hepatitis B could be effectively controlled and hepatitis C cursed completely with the currently available treatments. The people who think they may be exposed to these infections should get tested as early as possible so they can be effectively treated at earliest.
According to a recent survey, estimated 14 million people are suffering from hepatitis in Pakistan, but unfortunately, the problem of our country and many others are 80 per cent hepatitis patients who remain undiagnosed, thus this viral infections are considered major public health problem for world.
President PSSLD Brig(R) Prof Masood Siddiq, Prof Zaigham Abbas, Prof Saeed Hamdi, Prof Wasim Jafri and other addressed the seminar.