Hetal Vyas, TNN | Apr 25, 2013, 07.55 PM IST
BANGALORE: Though little alarm has been sounded about it, Hepatitis is increasing at a worrying rate in India. Recent World Health Organization (WHO) data puts Hepatitis B cases in India at approximately 1.1 million, with 240,000 annual deaths due to complications associated with it. Similarly for Hepatitis C, the figure for India is put at 400,000 cases, with about 96,000 deaths annually of causes related to the hepatitis C infection. A large percentage of these cases are due to unsafe injection practices.
The WHO also says that unsafe practices and the overuse of injections across the globe can cause an estimated 33% of Hepatitis B virus, 42% of Hepatitis C virus and 2% of all new HIV(human immunodeficiency virus) infections every single year.
Experts said that this is definitely alarming for Indian situation where injections are administered for common symptoms like diarrhea, fever and even cough. In a year a person is given 2.9 injections on an average as per INCLEN study published in WHO's SEARO bulletin recently.
Overall, three billion injections are estimated to be administered annually in India; of which 1.89 billion were unsafe. Moreover, injections administered for curative purpose constituted 82.5% and a majority of these are unnecessary.
According to Dr. Santanu Chattopadhyay, Gastroenterologist, Founder and CEO, NationWide Primary Healthcare Services.: "Hepatitis B & C can both be contracted through the sharing of needles during drug use; via reuse of infected syringes; through blood transfusion, if the blood was not properly screened; and during a tattoo or piercing done with infected tools. In rare cases, an infected pregnant woman could spread the virus to her baby at birth. Even sharing of razors or tooth brushes with an infected person can spread the disease."
In this case, prevention is definitely better than cure. Says Dr Praveen Kumar, Medical Gastroenterologist, and Professor in Gastroenterology, Vydehi Medical College and Vydehi Mallya Hospital: "Treatment for Hepatitis is very expensive. Therefore awareness and stringent enforcement is essential to save the population. In India unsafe injection practices and the reuse of needles is a major cause of concern, so it is imperative to spread awareness among medical practitioners, patients and the public at large," he said.
The INCLEN study has found that of all the injections administered in India, 62% were found to be unsafe. They were administered incorrectly or were a threat for transmitting blood borne viruses.
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