Ludhiana, June 20
Hepatitis C virus infects three times more people than the AIDS virus and the way it is fast spreading, will perhaps kill far more patients than AIDS each year. The disease seems to be fast becoming a silent killer in this part of the region.
More than 95 patients with the hepatitis C virus were admitted to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in the past five months alone. As many as 81 blood donors at the DMCH were found to be infected with the Hepatitis C virus in 2003.
Dr Rajoo Singh Chhina, Medical Superintendent and Head of the Gastroenterology Unit, DMCH, said that the virus had, in large part, eluded public consciousness. “While a lot of work was being done to propagate awareness about AIDS and its prevention, a few know what hepatitis C is,” he said.
Dr Ajit Sood, Department of Medicine, DMCH said that the hepatitis C virus was a bad bug to catch. Most people acquired it through blood transfusion that are contaminated with the virus or by sharing needles with intravenous drug users, who were infected with hepatitis C. Before 1992 blood transfusion accounted for a major risk factor for its
transmission. However, with the current screening practices for the hepatitis C virus, the estimated risk had decreased to 0.001 per cent per unit of blood transfused. The other potential risk factors include
nosocomial transmission from patient to patient, patient to health workers or vice-versa, tattooing, body piercing, accidental needle stick injury and sharing of household items such as razors, nail clippers, scissors, toothbrushes, etc.
On an average more than 15 patients suffering from this virus were reported every month from one place or the other in and around the city. Dr Chhina said that no vaccine was there for hepatitis C. Though certain drugs were available, they were too expensive. Single course could cost more than Rs 1.5 lakh (for six months). About half of the people with hepatitis C were unable to identify the source and time of acquisition of this virus.
Dr Chhina said that it was often a clinically silent
infection. It was often detected incidentally at the time of routine health check-up or life insurance examination or when screened for donating blood. Most often, the acquisition of this virus infection was not recognised and deceptively passed off as a mild case of flu. He said: “This silent killer dupes both doctor and patient initially, but returns to exact its toll, may be two or three decades later, with serious consequences of cirrhosis, hepatocellular cancer and death.
