SUKKUR: A public awareness walk was staged at the Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College (GMMMC), Sukkur on Saturday to observe World Hepatitis Day under the aegis of the departments of gastroenterology and hepatology.
Addressing the participants, Faculty Dean Professor Dr Saleh Muhammad Channa said there were about 15 million people suffering from Hepatitis B and C in Pakistan and the prevalence of hepatitis C in the country was around 5 per cent and that of hepatitis B was nearly 2.
He urged that to achieve elimination, greater awareness, increased diagnosis and key interventions, vaccination and injection safety is pre-requisite.
He said that every activity that addressed the viral hepatitis was a step towards eliminating it.
Professor Channa observed that viral hepatitis was one of the leading causes of death globally, accounting for 1.34 million deaths per year. Together, he said hepatitis B and hepatitis C caused 80 per cent of the liver cancer cases in the world.
Dr Irrum Bhutti said that currently, 90 per cent of the people living with hepatitis B and 80 per cent with hepatitis C were not aware of their status.
He said this could result in developing a fatal liver disease at some point in their lives and in some cases, unknowingly transmitting an infection to others.