Guwahati Hospital Offers Free Screening Of Hepatitis B & C

Guwahati: Continuing its ceaseless endeavour to deliver ‘Health for All, Smiles for All’, the city-based GNRC Hospitals observed World Hepatitis Day on 28 July by encouraging citizens to undergo free fibro screening for liver, Hepatitis B & C. Dr Anjan Saikia, director of Gastroenterology & Hepatology of the premier hospital, while addressing the media, highlighted the significance of adopting preventive measures for reducing the spread of Hepatitis B and C viruses among individuals.

“Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of death globally accounting for 1.34 million per year, which is more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria. One in every 12 people today carry hepatitis B or C virus.

It is a truly global epidemic that can affect millions of people,” said Dr Saikia. It may be noted that globally 90% of people are living with hepatitis B and 80% living with hepatitis C, but most of them remain unaware about the problem. Those are silent epidemics, affecting children and marginalised populations.

In the last few years, significant progress has been made to address the situation. “In 2015, elimination of viral hepatitis was included in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and in 2016 the world’s first global hepatitis strategy to eliminate the disease was ratified.

Greater awareness and understanding of the disease along with the risk is very much necessary,” added Dr Saikia. Requesting the media and creative fraternity in presence of popular Assamese author Manikuntala Bhattacharya and journalist Nava Thakuria to support the healthcare providers’ mission, Dr Saikia asserted that early intervention through modern medicine and proper lifestyle management can prevent or address most of the cases relating to Hepatitis B and C virus infection.