Faisalabad: Pakistan is fifth among countries most affected with hepatitis B and C after China, India, Indonesia and Nigeria with a total number of 12.6 million patients suffering from this deadly disease, said Dr Khurram Tariq, President Faisalabad: Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI).
In a statement on Monday, he said that the prevalence of hepatitis in Pakistan is around 8.64% while it is a whopping high up to 17.77% in Faisalabad: alone. However, the ratio of this silent killing disease is much higher in aged persons, he added.
He stressed the need for an organized, collaborative and continuous effort to contain this disease in this industrial, commercial and business hub of Pakistan. He said that most of the public sector hospitals have special facilities for the treatment of hepatitis in addition to a dedicated Liver Centre in the Allied Hospital-II (DHQ Hospital) Faisalabad: .
However, he lamented that there was no facility for liver transplant in Faisalabad: as a kidney and liver transpla
nt institute is available only in Lahore.
He said that the Punjab government has established 36 hepatitis filter clinics in different districts and these clinics must be made more proactive to identify patients suffering from this disease.
He urged the health authorities and civil society to create much-needed awareness among the patients to mitigate the sufferings of the people as well as the government who has to spend billions of rupees on the treatment of identified patients.
Meanwhile, Senior Vice President FCCI Dr Sajjad Arshad and Vice President Hajji Muhammad Aslam Bhali have disclosed that quacks are the main cause of spreading hepatitis as they use a single syringe for scores of patients.
‘Similarly, invasive surgery and unqualified street dentists are also contributing their role in enhancing the ratio of Hepatitis patients in Faisalabad: ‘, they said and urged the government to hit hard these elements as it was adding unbearable financial burden on the national exchequer in addition to increas
ing monetary burden on the infested families.