Majority of children in Pakistan hit by Hepatitis A

Ninety six percent of children in Pakistan contract Hepatitis A before the age of six years due to contaminated water. As per a research report published by Macter International, contaminated water, consumed by people pertaining to all age groups, is a major cause of Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E. Hepatitis E was identified as a major threat for pregnant women making it necessary that they are vaccinated against the virus so as to avoid complications that may be fatal. Compilers of the report, however, recommended that concrete measures must be adopted to avoid water contamination followed by cost effective and simple, home or community based water treatment measures. This is essential to protect children as well as general public against Hepatitis A and E, said the compilers of the report. Referring to the fact that as many as 17 million people in the country are suffering from blood borne Hepatitis B and...