HEPATITIS IN PUNJAB- Genetic or Social Concern?

Punjab, the land of five rivers, reminds you of its richness and royalty. The lavish green state is generally famous for its rich legacy, tradition, culture, and food, but quite anything, Punjab is known pre-eminently for Punjabis. Outwardly, the spontaneity, positivity and vibrancy are beyond imagination but, as we go deeper, the state is silently enduring an Infection that attacks the liver, inflaming and damaging it over time – HEPATITIS!

28th July is observed as the Worlds Hepatitis Day every year to bring the world together under a single theme- “To raise awareness of the global burden of viral hepatitis and to influence real change”.

Viral hepatitis is commonly known for its five variations- Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. Hepatitis A and E get spread by consuming contaminated water and food whereas Hepatitis B and C are caused by using infected needles, syringes, blood, tattooing with unsterilized needles, sharing injection drug needles, through sexual intercourse and infected mother to a new-born baby. Hepatitis D never occurs alone like a Mumma’s boy, can only be seen in a patient who has hepatitis B.

Hepatitis C virus is a globally widespread pathogen that is a major reason for medical care trouble in India. Every 4 out of 5 people affected with the disease are unaware that they are silently suffering from Hepatitis C. The virus can be particularly very dangerous and it can be also known as the Silent killer because the symptoms of the disease don’t show up till the disease has progressed to its final stages. Generally, people with Hepatitis C hardly show any symptoms, but between 2 weeks to 6 months after the virus enters the bloodstream, they show symptoms like fever, tiredness, nausea, vomiting, dark urine, jaundice, yellow skin, yellow eyes, loss of appetite, stomach pain etc. and the symptoms last for 2 to 12 weeks. Salt and sugar look the same, be careful!

There has been an alarming rise in the count of hepatitis C patients in Punjab, majorly because of the increase in the count of drug users – justifying the title of ‘Hepatitis Capital” for Punjab. The bane of substance abuse in Punjab has acquired the proportions of a pestilence that has rattled the whole society within the state. The prevalence reported in this part of the nation for HCV was 5.2% in 2012, while a recent study has shown the prevalence to be 3.2% in 2016. A statistical evaluation of a study was conducted on 400 adolescents and young adults (11–35 years) from 15 villages of Jalandhar District which showed the prevalence of substance abuse among the study group was 65.5% and typically abused substance was alcohol (41.8%). A high prevalence of heroin abusers was notable among study subjects (20.8%). Non-alcohol and non-tobacco substance abuse showed prevalence to be 34.8%. A significant association of drug abuse was detected in the male gender, illiteracy, and age above 30 years. A statistical method on HCV antibody prevalence revealed a robust association with the sort of medicine injected, frequency of injecting, the multiplicity of medicine abused, and needle syringe sharing.

In India, the Government of Punjab has constantly been a flag bearer against Hepatitis C. According to the Punjab State Hepatitis Control Program, Director of Health Services, Dr Avneet Kaur, in 2017, the Govt. of Punjab expanded the program through a profoundly decentralized network of 22 district hospitals and 3 government colleges for screening and administration of Hepatitis C. In 2016 Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis-C Relief Fund (MMPHCRF) was launched by the Government of Punjab to supply free treatment of Hepatitis C to any infected residents in Punjab. Punjab is the first state to launch a program against the disease and has screened over 1,63,000 patients for Hepatitis C & over 85000 patients with hepatitis C have initiated treatment. To prevent the spread of the disease and treat all hepatitis C infected patients within the state, the Government of Punjab is heartily committed to achieving the goal of elimination of hepatitis C within the state by 2030. This may result in the reduction of all causes of mortality associated with liver-related death. The mission is to provide the lowest possible cost of diagnosis and treatment for hepatitis C to any patient. The achievement of the Health Department in negotiating lower prices for patients has played a catalytic role in bringing down prices for domestic and global counterparts. Administration and healthcare must go hand-in-hand to eradicate the dreaded disease- Hepatitis C.

Like how every lock features a key, every problem features a solution. We, DSS Imagetech, are glad to provide you with solutions for Hepatitis from Abbott Molecular. The firm assures innovations for managing the most challenging diseases and molecular level lab demands. “The Abbott RealTime HBV Assay and the Abbott RealTime HCV Assay” are viral load assays, i.e., they measure the amount of hepatitis virus in your blood, working on Abbott m2000systems for the detection of viral load in Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C patients respectively with 100% specificity. The Abbott RealTime HCV Genotype II Assay helps to detect genotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and subtypes 1a and 1b. All these assays are FDA approved thereby ensuring the highest standard to quality conformation. 

To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. So, get yourself and your family checked for Hepatitis TODAY!