Guwahati News Desk: The North East Digestive and Liver Foundation of Guwahati has launched a week-long Hepatitis awareness program to mark the occasion of World Hepatitis Day on Sunday which falls on the July 28.
Secretary of North East Digestive and Liver Foundation and Sr Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist – Institute of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Guwahati Dr BD Goswami while informing about the awareness program said, “As part of the awareness program, we are organizing Continuous Medical Education (CME) programs for doctors, Public awareness programs in different places throughout the week. We are also organizing “RUN FOR YOUR LIVER” a rally for greater awareness and prevention of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C to commemorate World Hepatitis Day.”
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. There are many causes of hepatitis which include viral infections by Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E viruses that many have heard of, but also includes auto-immune hepatitis, fatty liver hepatitis, alcohol induced hepatitis and drug related hepatitis. Hepatitis virus affects the liver. Amongst these Hepatitis viruses, Hepatitis B and C are more dangerous and become a serious health concern.
According to World Health Organization Hepatitis B virus is 100 times more infectious than even HIV, which spread through blood and body fluid of an infected person.
Dr. Goswami further informed, “People who are most at risk for developing viral hepatitis are workers in the health care professions, people with multiple sexual partners, intravenous drug users, and hemophiliacs who receive blood clotting factors. About one third of all cases of hepatitis come from an unknown or unidentifiable source. This means that you don’t have to be in a high risk group in order to be infected with a hepatitis virus.”
Hepatitis kills more than one million people every year. While India has around 40 million patients with Hepatitis B, approximately 500 million people worldwide have either Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis can lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. It is the most common reason for liver transplantation in India.
In order to raise global awareness of this life threatening disease and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment, World Hepatitis Alliance decided to observe World Hepatitis Day on 28 July every year.