Experts have called for more intense campaigns on the lines of HIV AIDS to combat the scourge of hepatitis B in the country.
Hepatitis B can be prevented through vaccination but though awareness on the disease has increased manifold in the recent years, it has not reflected in vaccinations. Hepatitis B is the most serious health concern in the country and across the world and even more dangerous than HIV AIDS. It is estimated that there are at least two billion Hep B carriers in the world at present of which 15 to 40 per cent will develop serious liver diseases like cirrhosis and cancer, Dr Nayana Joshi of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences said here on Saturday. Delivering the ‘Blumberg Oration’ on the occasion of the 12th World Hepatitis Day and World Hepatitis B Eradication Day, observed by Kalinga Gastroenterology Foundation (KGF), Dr Joshi said as many as 40 million people in India suffer from chronic liver conditions wrought on by hepatitis B with one million new carriers added every year.
Though the country has included Hep B vaccine in its immunisation schedule, it is important to ensure that all children are vaccinated as 90 per cent of the children who contract the virus will develop serious liver diseases, she warned. The 11th KGF Samman was accorded to renowned sand sculptor Sudarshan Patnaik on the occasion. Among others, RMRC Director Dr Shantanu Kar, painter Siba Panigrahi and KGF chairman Prof SP Singh spoke at the event.
Comments
0 comment