A few patients sat in a hall packed with doctors, last week in Chandigarh. They were men and women from different age groups from the fringes. They were shy and reticent, relegated to a corner in the air-conditioned room, until their names were called out. They lined up and collected their certificates which declared them free of Hepatitis (Hep) C infection, but they were also warned of a relapse if proper precautions were not taken.
Punjab is one of the two states in India, the other one being Haryana, which provides free Hep C drugs to patients. One may wonder at such a big hullabaloo over this viral infection. Why single out Hep C for a discussion on access to free treatment?
After a patient’s immune system is attacked by the Hep C virus, it has an ability to spread in the body silently, hibernating for many years, as many as 20. It is a silent killer. The disease flares up without a sign and directly progresses to blow apart the liver, rendering it as much as 85% damaged — what we call cirrhotic in medical jargon. Liver being the powerhouse of the human body, leads to lethal repercussions for the patient once damaged. The patient dies within two years of cirrhosis setting in.
In India, it is estimated that between 60 lakh to 1.1 crore persons are infected with Hep C annually. In 2015, an estimated 59,000 patients died.
A faulty blood transfusion during an emergency surgery up to two decades ago, or a dental cleansing procedure using non-sterile equipment or an act of tattooing or indulging in unsafe sex can lead to infection. But the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence has recorded 1, 42,148 cases of viral hepatitis (which includes both B and C types) and only 446 deaths in 2016.
WHERE INDIA STANDS
- Due to the absence of an HCV (chronic Hepatitis C virus) surveillance system, there islittle knowledge about the actual number of people living with HCV-related liver diseases and the people who died.
- Global studies estimate that there are 8.7 million people living with chronic HCV in India.
- The disease is mostly prevalent in Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.
- The approximate number of people living with chronic Hepatitis C infection, which stood around 12 million.
- As per the statement, chronic HCV infection accounts for 12-32 per cent of liver cancer and 10-20 per cent of cirrhosis cases in India.
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