DELHI HEPATITIS DAY ON 4th DECEMBER

What is Hepatitis Day?

Viral Hepatitis can be a dangerous. To spread awareness about hepatitis fourth December is being celebrated as "Hepatitis Day" for the past one decade by the Delhi Government under the eminent leadership of Dr. Shiv Kumar Sarin, a Delhi based Hepatologist of International fame.

Hepatitis Day aims to raise awareness of hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as extend the political support for the diseases to levels seen in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The long-term objective of the Hepatitis Day campaign is to prevent new infections and to deliver real improvements in health outcomes for people living with hepatitis B and C.

VIRAL HEPATITIS A PREVENTABLE HEATH HAZARD

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a blood borne and sexually transmitted virus which causes Hepatitis B. Rates of new infection and acute disease are highest among adults, but chronic infection is more likely to occur in persons infected as infants or young children. About 4% of Indians carry Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) with them with a total pool of 36 million carriers. There are mainly five types of viral hepatitisHepatitis A, B, C, D and E of which Hepatitis B is most common and preventable through immunization.

Hepatitis is everywhere!

The shaded areas in the map represent the spread of viral hepatitis.

Hepatitis Kills More than Hiroshima

To get an idea about the seriousness of this disease it might be interesting to make a comparison between the impacts of the nuclear holocaust at Hiroshima and Hepatitis B.

68OO died and 76000 injured following the nuclear bomb blast in Hiroshima and 38000 killed and 21000 injured in Nagasaki. But Hepatitis B alone kills 1 million world wide every year! We might not be able to prevent another nuclear war but indeed we can prevent Hepatitis B through an effective vaccine.

Professional blood donors constitute the major high risk group for HBV infection in India, with a Hepatitis Surface Antigen (HBSAg- is a protein present on the surface of hepatitis B virus) present up to 14% according to some studies. Blood transfusions represent the most important route for HBV transmission among adults.

Liver cancer resulting from Hepatitis B is an example of a preventable cancer

Viral hepatitis stands behind only to tobacco as a cause of preventable cancer. 6 million people dies of cancer round the globe and infectious diseases are responsible for 22% of cancer deaths in the developing world and 6% in the developed world and among them viral hepatitis stands first. Nearly 80% of liver cancers follow Hepatitis B. 2000 million people alive today have Hepatitis B infection at some point of their life!

A preventable hit in Childhood!

In India hepatitis B carrier pool is established in early childhood, predominantly by spread from mother to baby during pregnancy, during delivery and rarely after. Hepatitis B is the cause of 50% of the liver failures in India.

Hepatitis B is more infectious than AIDS virus

Hepatitis is at least 1000 times more infectious than HIV! 0.1ml is necessary for transmission of HIV, 0.01 ml for Hepatitis C but only 0.00001 ml for HBV! But unfortunately Hepatitis B is not getting media attention and the publicity it deserves as an immediate heath concern.

Prevention is better than cure!

This adage is very true for HBV as well. Presently Hepatitis B vaccination may cost less than Rs.100 for 3 doses.

But once chronic Hepatitis B develops there is no option other than treatment with costly drugs costing around Rs.300000 plus the risk of extensive irreversible liver damage and cancer. During 1990–2004, incidence of acute hepatitis B in the United States declined 75%. The greatest decline (94%) occurred among children and adolescents, coincident with an increase in hepatitis B vaccine coverage. Taiwan has a similar story. After universal vaccination the Hepatitis B incidence declined from 19% to 0.9%.

Unfortunately due to heavy financial burden a developing country like India cannot implement universal free vaccination of all children. In India we couldn't provide complete immunization even among the risk groups like sex workers, doctors and other health care workers, professional blood donors etc. Only about 50% of the health care workers including doctors are currently immunized against this dangerous disease.

ABC of Hepatitis facts!

Hepatitis A: An acute worry.

Rarely fatal. Usually acquired through contaminated food and water. Vaccine available but costly.

Hepatitis B: Biggest Killer world wide.

Usually transmitted through body fluids: blood transfusion, unsterile needles, unsafe sex, mother to baby. Vaccine available, effective and affordable to common man.

Hepatitis C: Cool Killer.

Hepatitis C virus causes chronic disease which leads to cirrhosis and cancer in majority. Transmission is similar to Hepatitis B. No vaccine yet available. Treatment very costly and cannot be cured in most cases.

Hepatitis D: Deadly double infection with Hepatitis B but never alone!

Transmission is similar to Hepatitis B.
Hepatitis E: Every where !

...........but easily goes away with out harm except in some pregnant women and immuno-compromised infants and adults. Transmission similar to Hepatitis A.

WHERE I CAN GET VACCINATED?WHERE I CAN CHECK WHETHER I HAVE HEPATITIS?

Please consult your doctor or visit your nearest primary health center or visit us at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

http://www.ilbs.in/patients.html

Common Wealth Cow-Who milk it!

For the Common Wealth from the common 'Wealth"-Corrupt Cows!

Nobody exactly knows how much is spent in the name of Common Wealth Games- estimates vary from Rs. 30,000 to 80,000 crores!

It is the money of all states, Delhi squandered- in the name of sports or to uphold the image of the capital city to foreigners. Red air conditioned buses roam the roads of Delhi, huge flyovers everywhere for traffic jam free roads without crossings and so on. Many cities in India don’t have a flyover where the traffic is 100 times severe!

Yes, I suspect Delhi being the ‘capital city’ is sinking the wealth of the nation.

The whole development is centered on the middle and upper class. Even in Delhi most of the roads don’t have foot path- even in main roads footpaths are discontinuous- exposed drains with broken slabs, encroaching ‘dhabas’, pits , automobile workshops-one can find everything along Delhi footpaths. What about the drainage system? Road and drain meets at every rain- cars splash sever water on the pedestrians. Pedestrians are treated in par with animals. In the suburbs of Delhi one have to make his way through heaps of garbage. Water supply is limited because of low pressure because of so many connections. Yes, crores are spent but for whom? For sports? Please don’t say? Despite some personal achievements what India achieved in Olympics? India has its name in any sports or games? Again, don’t say cricket! It is another big business and in the game point of view not much better than cards. Yes, crores are spent but for what?

I have seen Delhi people boasting about Metro! But had the metro project been managed by some original Delhites (people from Haryana,Panjab, Rajastan, UP, Bihar) ,think, when it would have been realized!

Sanal MG