Srinagar, Jul 28: Even as J&K intensifies efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis, the actual burden of the disease here remains unknown due to lack of comprehensive epidemiological data, or any representative sero-prevalence study.
According to Dr Mir Muhammad Iqbal, J&K Nodal Officer for the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme (NVHCP), around 900 patients with Hepatitis B are on treatment in J&K. In addition, 2500 patients with hepatitis C are currently receiving treatment through the government programme.
However, he said these are the patients who have been tested positive and require treatment, not the actual number of people living with the two infections in J&K. The nodal officer said both these viral hepatitis are preventable and it was imperative to ensure that newborns do not get the infection from an infected mother.
“Nearly 2.5 lakh pregnant women are screened every year in J&K, and if a mother is found positive for any of the two Hepatitis, the newborns are given immunoglobulin at the time of birth to safeguard their health and lives,” he said. He said early detection of infection and timely measures to protect newborns are one of the key interventions under the national programme. While Hepatitis B is largely preventable through vaccination, hepatitis C is now curable with direct-acting antiviral medicines.
Under the NVHCP, testing and treatment for both infections are provided free of cost. Designated testing centers have been established in every district, while two model treatment centers, one each in GMC Srinagar and Jammu, have also been established to provide advanced treatment to patients requiring it.
However, treatment alone is unlikely to eliminate hepatitis. Factors driving transmission need to be addressed more aggressively. A recent meta-analysis of studies from J&K found that unsafe injection practices, intravenous drug use, unsterile dental procedures and unregulated body piercing are the leading risk factors for hepatitis C transmission.
The review also found a disproportionately high burden in people abusing drugs through injections. The meta-analyses also reported blood transfusion safety significantly reducing transmission rates. One of the studies included in the review that analysed 97,500 blood donors, reported hepatitis C prevalence of just 0.2 percent.
No infections were detected among repeat voluntary donors. A separate research from GMC Doda, reported an HBsAg positivity rate of 0.92 percent.
However, the authors cautioned that hospital-based findings cannot be used to estimate the disease burden across J&K. This also underlines the need for large population-based studies.
Public health experts believe the absence of updated prevalence data remains one of the biggest obstacles to hepatitis elimination. With no estimate of how many people are infected, many cases are likely to remain undiagnosed. This leads to advanced liver disease in many.
Aligning with UN sustainable development goals, India aims to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030.
J&K, in order to stay apace, will need to strengthen surveillance, expand community-based screening, and sustain universal hepatitis B vaccination. Improvement in awareness about preventable risk factors is the need of the hour.
