A new health hazard - Bangladesh

[Guest guest]

Editorial:

A new health hazard

Hepatitis C has been relatively less known in this country and its prevalence is perceived as less worrying as a threat to public health. That is perhaps due to lack of knowledge. A recent national survey - fifth Behavioural and Serological Surveillance Report - found that prevalence of the virus was quite high particularly among those injecting drug users who share needles. Although the full magnitude of the prevalence could not be determined, health experts said about 85 per cent of the people surveyed suffer from acute infection and run the risk of becoming chronically ill. This, they said, might lead to a health disaster in the future if remedial steps are not taken immediately. Chronically infected Hepatitis C patients rarely stand the chance to be completely cured and in some cases such infections lead to full-blown disease and liver failure.

According to experts, in most cases acute infection is not diagnosed as the ailment does not have manifest symptoms. A large number of people who have undergone medical check-up for overseas employment have been found to be carrying the virus in their system although they looked apparently healthy. The virus is primarily transmitted by blood. The majority of patients were found to have had blood transfusion or had used intravenous drugs. We hope the findings of the survey will be taken seriously by the health authorities for designing a national action plan, and not relegated to the back burner. Survey reports are notoriously put aside to collect dust as the bureaucrats find them of no consequence if action is deferred. Political leaders are proverbially allergic to taking initiative in dealing with issues that look distant in their election perspective.

A survey of this nature that concerns public health and productivity of the labour force should urgently be brought to the notice of the parliamentary standing committee for the ministry of health so that an action plan can be initiated for debate in the parliament. This process is suggested to cut through the slow-moving labyrinthine official route. It ought to be recognised that widespread prevalence of Hepatitis C virus among the people can be as deadly as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and similar infectious diseases that lower the status of public health costing the nation more than natural disasters. A healthy people are the greatest asset of a country in terms of economic productivity and sound socio-political atmosphere.

http://independent-bangladesh.com/news/dec/18/18122004ed.htm