WATANI International
15 August 2010
It is not difficult to come across someone in
The main treatment for HCV is Interferon. Over the past few years, some 105,000 Egyptians have been treated with this medication, and it was expected that a greater number will be cured should
In addition to HCV, hepatitis A and B are widespread in
Prohibitive cost
In many cases, HCV symptoms do not appear early and a person may spend years without knowing that he or she is infected with the disease. This makes treatment more difficult, but when discovered early, HCV is curable in most cases. Symptoms include loss of appetite, digestive system disorders, nausea, tiredness, vomiting, yellowing of the skin, eyes and mucous membrane and high temperature.
Earlier this year an event was jointly organised by the Health Ministry and the National Liver Institute (NLI) to celebrate the passage of three years since the onset of the national campaign to fight hepatitis viruses.
Hamdi al-Sayed, chairman of the Doctors’ Syndicate and head of the Peoples’ Assembly’s Health Committee, told Watani that
Fatal disorder
Amr Qandil, deputy health minister for preventive medicine, told Watani that the greatest health problem
“The number of patients infected with liver cancer has increased remarkably, mainly due to the negligence in treating hepatitis B and C,” Dr Qandil says. This situation was the reason for the formation in 2007 of the National Committee for the Control and Prevention of Viral Hepatitis (NCCPVH). The committee focuses on acquainting people with preventive measures. It recently succeeded in bringing down the price of an Interferon injection from EGP1,400 to EGP400. Since 1992 the Ministry of Health has included vaccination against hepatitis viruses among the obligatory vaccines. Now a hotline has been set up providing information on hepatitis viruses. There are also 21 centres across
Positive response
Dr Doss explained that the NCCPVH, over the past three years, has surveyed
Hanan Mina, a specialist in liver diseases, explained to Watani that the protocol implied that when a pregnant mother transmitted the disease to the foetus, the baby could not be treated with Interferon until he or she reached the age of three. Hepatitis C is believed to be transmitted only by blood. However, unlike many other blood borne viruses (like HIV) virtually any source of blood or blood products seems to be capable of carrying the virus, even if the source is indirect—such as a used razor, for example. This makes hepatitis C far more transmissible than most other blood borne viruses, including HIV. Many hepatitis C victims contracted the disease through blood transfusions in the 1970s and 1980s. Effective blood screening for the virus was developed and implemented by 1990, which lowered the rates of post-transfusion hepatitis. Parents should be aware, however, that the virus could be transmitted via dental clinics or blood transfusion.
Dr Mina said that the treatment project was implemented through an 18-month-term and was expected to treat 300 children between three and 18 years old.
Raising awareness
Some three years ago, the Doctors’ Syndicate honoured the NGO al-Amal, literally Hope, for a campaign it launched to raise people’s awareness of methods of transmitting the disease, the virus’s complications, preventive methods and treatment. Father Shenouda, who heads al-Amal, told Watani that the campaign focused on organising meetings in churches, sports clubs and other social institutions. Al-Amal is the sole NGO in
Patients commonly gave tragic details of their suffering. A wide complaint, however, is that the treatment costs are, in many cases, prohibitively expensive, which underscores the significance of the financial aid from the global fund to fight epidemic diseases.