Rawalpindi residents to get free Hepatitis treatment under new MoU

RAWALPINDI: In a major step towards eradicating the growing Hepatitis B and C in Rawalpindi, the Local Hepatitis Elimination and Prevention Programme has joined hands with Gulf Care Hospital to provide free treatment to the victims of this disease.

The MoU aims at offering comprehensive facilities, including surgeries, ultrasound, medicine, and consultation with specialist doctors, all free of cost to the patients. Additional advantages comprise offering all the required laboratory tests for free through the provided blood screening, which helps with both diagnosing and treating the concerned individuals.

The costliness of hepatitis treatment has excluded the middle and poor classes since long as these classes could never afford such expensive a treatment, and it generates a higher percentage chances of death.

Earlier, LHEAP program teams were making all-out efforts to visit every door to door for blood screening and vaccination against the disease in all union councils of the city, Rawalpindi.

They visited 10,347 houses from July 10 to December this year, screening 47,631 people and diagnosing 377 with Hepatitis B and 1,671 with Hepatitis C. As many as 38 people were diagnosed with both Hepatitis B and C, while eight pregnant women were also found to be suffering from the two diseases.

As many as 2,086 people were found to be Hepatitis positive, which shows the urgent action needed to be taken to cope with the health crisis.

Against this, the first dose of hepatitis vaccination was provided to 13,413 affected persons, and the second dose was given to 7,819 while 194 were given the third dose while the vaccine for Hepatitis B prevention was given to 21,426 people reflects commitment of the program in the prevention and treatment.

Similarly, the field teams paid equal attention to the UC 8 presenting highest incidence of hepatitis in Rawalpindi. They visited 2,540 houses conducted blood screenings on 9,576 people and diagnosed 89 individuals suffering from Hepatitis B while 340 were suffering from Hepatitis C.

Eight people have been found suffering from Hepatitis B and C while one pregnant female was also tested positive from the two disease. In this UC, the first dose of medicine was given to 651 patients, the second dose to 31 patients, and the vaccine for Hepatitis B was given to 682.

According to the CEO at LHEAP, Dr. Ansar Ishaq, the program is working on two fronts: on one hand, it is raising an awareness campaign to educate the citizens as to how to protect themselves from hepatitis; on the other hand, after the signing of MoU with the hospital, it’s providing access to all necessary facilities inclusive of laboratory tests, indoor admission, medication, and consultancies with specialist doctors.