SIUT organized World hepatitis day.

KARACHI -- World Hepatitis Day was observed throughout the world on 28th July including Pakistan. Its purpose is to raise awareness about viral hepatitis that effects 354 million people globally. To mark this day, a comprehensive program was organized at SIUT (Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation). This years' theme is 'Hepatitis Can't Wait", with a strategy calling for the eradication of hepatitis C by the year 2030.

Globally 2 billion people have been infected with hepatitis B virus with approximately 1.5 million people become newly infected each year and almost 300 million people are chronically infected. Around 58 million have chronic hepatitis C infection with about 1.5 million new infection occurring annually. An estimated 3.2 million adolescent and children have been affected with chronic hepatitis C globally. 71 million people suffer from hepatitis C in Pakistan. Each year brings about 150,000 new cases. Majority of people catch this infection in health care settings without knowledge. The disease is called a silent killer because many patients remain undiagnosed and untreated for many years before developing complications. More than 12,000 Hepatitis B virus related deaths were reported in 2019 while hepatitis C related deaths were over 17,000 in Pakistan and the number of deaths have increased to more than 9% in hepatitis B and 5% in hepatitis C cases. Considering the importance of increase in the number of cases of hepatitis A and E, the medical experts guided the visitors about its incubation period which 4-6 weeks for hepatitis A and 6-8 weeks for hepatitis E. They further explained, usage of boiled water, after using washroom and before and after eating food. It was emphasized to get...