7% Pakistanis suffering from Hepatitis C

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD: Almost 7.4 percent Pakistani population is suffering from Hepatitis B and C, including 4.9 percent suffering from Hepatitis C only, National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS) President Aftab Ahmed told APP. He said around 20,000 to 40,000 people die of Hepatitis C annually in Pakistan. “The major source of Hepatitis C infection is use of used syringes,” he added. About 1.5 million blood or blood related product transfusions are conducted in Pakistan annually and hepatitis C infection is higher in multi-transfused population compared to normal population, he added. Ahmed said according to research studies, the prevalence of hepatitis C was much higher in intravenous drug users (IDUs) and in a study conducted in Lahore, 93% of IDUs were positive for hepatitis C. He said Hepatitis C was becoming a major killer disease in the world and also posed an increased burden on the economy of the developing countries, which had a large proportion of their population suffering from this disease.