World Hepatitis Day 2018: Know what experts have to say

Experts educate you about the preventive measures you should take.

An inflammatory condition of the liver can be referred to as Hepatitis. Millions of people are affected by hepatitis which can hamper their quality of life. Know how you can tackle it. Dr Dharminder Nagar, MD, Paras Healthcare says, "Hepatitis A finds its way to our body through food, water, and is highly communicable while Hepatitis-B and C are spread through bodily fluid exchange including blood transfusion. Patients undergoing dialysis are another key risk group for Hepatitis C infection as they might be exposed to infected equipment used in the process. It is therefore very important to encourage vaccination for Hepatitis A and B as it can go a long way in reducing the burden of this disease. At the same time, making diagnosis and treatment facilities available to all is very important. To combat this disease, healthcare providers and policymakers need to join hands. There should be low-cost diagnostic tests, vaccination, and accessibility to treatment."

Vaccine drives need better push says Arunima Patel, MD, iGenetic Diagnostics, "Hepatitis is a major public health issue in the country and the situation can be handled through a robust vaccination programme. However, the prognosis has always led to better results of treatment in any form of the disease. So, screening is important and also to address the growing concern with the disease, the government needs to take more initiatives facilitating healthcare and diagnostics services for the masses," she explained.

According to Dr Lovkesh Anand, Consultant Gastroenterology, Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, with a good screening programme, greater vaccine cover for Hepatitis B and availability of effective medicines, we can reduce the disease burden as well as its complications.

Speaking about the preventive measures, Dr Monika Jain, Senior Consultant, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute says " My advice to people is that they should not be ignorant about this deadly disease and should adopt protective measures for the same with an aim to eliminate Hepatitis."'

As per Dr Nripen Saikia, Senior Consultant, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, PSRI Hospital, a timely diagnosis and treatment is utmost important for the prevention of Hepatitis.

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