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 C, experts said that since there is no vaccination to protect against Hepatitis C, precaution was important.
Concerted efforts to sensitize people against irrational administration of injections and drips, extreme care towards proper sterilization of surgical gadgets, knives, blades, scissors and razors used by barbers, tools used by dental surgeons and needles for ear piercing and tattooing was also strongly recommended. Seeking mandatory vaccination against Hepatitis B, under National Vaccination Programs, the researchers referred to the fact that the vaccine is identified to lose its efficacy levels for people above 40 years of age.
Despite the very fact a survey, covering four different districts of Sindh, was identified to have only 10.5 percent of the population vaccinated against hepatitis B, while 4.4 percent people were found suffering from hepatitis B and another 10.2 percent inflicted with hepatitis C.
Vaccination, wherever feasible, followed by across the board precautionary was recommended as every tenth Pakistani was identified to be inflicted with either hepatitis B or hepatitis C. As per study around 170,000 people die of hepatitis B and C every year in the country.
Source: Daily Times
