BackGovt to initiate studies to gauge Hepatitis A virus threat level
Health ministry's National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to initiate studies to improve assessment of Hepatitis A disease burden
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New Delhi: The Union ministry of health and family welfare is concerned about the susceptibility of the population to the Hepatitis A virus after observing a shift in the demographics of the infection towards older population in India due to socio-economic transitions.
The ministry’s National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recently decided to initiate sero-prevalence studies that determine the level of a pathogen in a population as measured in blood serum to gauge population susceptibility.
Ministry officials said the move would improve the assessment of disease burden, which they admit is highly underestimated at present. “We are planning to set up community-based surveillance sites on a priority basis so that we can know the actual burden of the disease," said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, secretary, department of health research at the health ministry and director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Hepatitis A is caused by contaminated food and water and Hepatitis B is caused by unprotected sex and unsafe needle usage. Viral Hepatitis is a major public health problem in the South-East Asia Region. Each year viral hepatitis infects millions of people across the region, causing around 410 000 deaths–more than HIV and malaria combined. It is also a major cause of liver cancer and cirrhosis, contributing to premature morbidity and mortality, undermining the push to achieve health and wellbeing for all.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), despite hepatitis’s outsized burden, it is estimated that just one in 10 people infected with the disease know their status. Many remain unaware that effective treatments exist, or that preventive measures are available, from basic hygiene to the hepatitis B vaccine.
“To overcome these barriers and eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, as per regional and global targets, enhanced awareness and understanding of how to prevent, treat and manage the disease is vital. To achieve this, health authorities can increase the prominence of hepatitis-related information and advocacy," said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia.
“Clear, concise and accurate messaging regarding how hepatitis infection can be prevented, what its signs and symptoms are and how it can be treated is essential to empowering people to take action. Simple hygiene measures such as hand-washing and consumption of safe drinking water and hygienic food, for example, are powerful tools for preventing hepatitis A and E. Messaging targeted towards high-risk groups such as intravenous drug users and sex workers can meanwhile increase uptake of harm-reduction measures," she said.
An analysis done by SRL Diagnostics, a noted diagnostic chain in India on Viral Hepatitis (A, B, C, E) testing done in its laboratories revealed that the Hepatitis C Virus infection was most common in the northern Indian states when compared with other parts of the country. However, the water born Hepatitis E virus infection was found to be the most common laboratory diagnosed viral hepatitis in India. The data is based on the more than 8 lakh 11 thousand tests done pan India at SRL labs between January 2014 and May 2017.
India ranks as the fourth among 11 countries which carry almost 50% of the global burden of chronic hepatitis.
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