India has over 40 million Hepatitis B infected patients, second only to
China, and most people with chronic Hepatitis B or C are unaware of
their infection, putting them at serious risk of developing cirrhosis or
liver cancer which are life threatening.
As India observes World Hepatitis Day tomorrow, the Institute of Liver
and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) based in New Delhi today painted a grim
picture on the prevalence of various forms of Hepatitis infections in
the country and efforts to check it, saying the country's collective
efforts in this field are "limited and painfully lagging behind".
Every year, nearly 600,000 patients die from HBV infection in the region
but the government does not yet have national policies relating to
screening and referral for Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C, it said.
Read more... Labels: epidemiology, India, WHD