<General Awareness> Hepatitis in Pakistan
Tabinda Salman
Dear Fellows,
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that leads to an infection of the liver. Most of the time, hepatitis is caused by a virus, but there are other reasons as well. One of them is autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). AIH is a long-term inflammatory disease of the liver in which the immune system destroys the liver tissues. In Pakistan, AIH is found in 17.2% of patients.
Viral hepatitis is one of the main causes of illness and death around the world, and it is becoming more common in Asian countries like Pakistan (Raja et al., 2020). HCV is the most common type of hepatitis caused by a virus. A recent study of the Pakistani population found that 24 percent of the patients had Hepatitis C, 6.4 percent had Hepatitis A and E, and 10 percent had Hepatitis B. Over 40% of the suspects were found to have a combination, with the most combinations coming from Hepatitis C. Most people had stomach pain, loss of appetite, tiredness, and feeling sick. The most common ways for hepatitis to spread in Pakistan are through unchecked blood donations, hairdresser cuts, reusing injectable materials, and using the same medical and surgical tools on more than one patient (Waheed & Siddiq, 2018). Pakistan has the most curative injections given to each person every year.
Hepatitis A and B are still being spread through the digestive system. The spread of viral hepatitis A and E is caused by contaminated drinking water. HBV and HCV are mostly spread through injections and hair stylists' kits that are not clean. Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection often changes because RNA-subordinate RNA polymerase isn't always the same. Hepatitis D virus is a flawed RNA virus that needs HBV to replicate. It was found that about one-third of Pakistan's HBV-infected people also had Hepatitis D virus (Subhan Butt & Sharif, 2016). Hepatitis E is caused by an RNA virus that spreads through poop. In Pakistan, severe viral hepatitis is often caused by dirty living conditions and not enough clean water (Butt et al., 2022).
Also, the Pakistani government has made reducing the number of people with hepatitis a top priority in recent years. In this case, the government has started a national hepatitis strategic plan (Waheed et al., 2021). Even though there have been efforts to reduce viral hepatitis, hepatitis A-E is still a big problem in Pakistan. The only way to deal with it is to avoid it. Accurate epidemiological statistics are required for a successful national response. Hepatitis A and E won't go down until everyone in the country has access to clean drinking water and places to clean up after themselves. There needs to be a central place to store information about epidemics, hepatitis, hepatic conditions, HCC, and the viral hepatitis surveillance system. The future HBV burden will be lessened by giving HBV shots to all new-borns and people in high-risk groups and by getting more people involved. Again, health care providers should be told how important it is to cut back on unneeded curative infusions, make sure blood transfusion facilities are clean, use surgical instruments that turn off automatically, and give good care to patients.
NAYS-Pakistan is doing its best to raise awareness among the population regarding various health-related issues. May is Hepatitis Awareness month so this article is written to raise awareness in our community about Hepatitis.
Article by: Samra Hayat Khan
References
Butt, N., Afzal, N., & Shakeel, D. (2022). Prolonged jaundice in Hepatitis-E patients: going beyond the optics. Journal Of The Pakistan Medical Association. https://doi.org/10.47391/jpma.4385
Rajar, A. B., Jameel, N., Khalil, R., Soomro, A. M., Soomro, J. A., & Qureshi, M. A. (2020). Distribution and determinants of acute hepatitis in Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Journal of Peoples University of Medical & Health Sciences Nawabshah. (JPUMHS), 10(3).
Subhan Butt, A., & Sharif, F. (2016). Viral Hepatitis in Pakistan: Past, Present, and Future. Euroasian Journal Of Hepato-Gastroenterology, 6(1), 70-81. https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10018-1172
Waheed, U., Saba, N., Wazeer, A., & Ahmed, S. (2021). A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Epidemiology of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Virus among Beta-Thalassemia Major Patients in Pakistan. Journal Of Laboratory Physicians, 13(03), 270-276. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1731110
Waheed, Y., & Siddiq, M. (2018). Elimination of hepatitis from Pakistan by 2030: is it possible?. Hepatoma Research, 4(8), 45. https://doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2018.58.
Chief coordinator
National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS) Pakistan,