THE PML-N government's representative in Punjab has expressed resolve to develop indigenous industry for drug manufacturing but remained cautious to give a commitment to support the project of local manufacturing of Interferon for cost-effective treatment of Hepatitis patients in the country.
During a table talk on "Importance of Hepatitis Awareness - Prevention and Treatment" in connection with World Hepatitis Day 2013 organised by Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (Jang Group of Newspapers) at a local hotel on Saturday, Punjab Health Minister Khalil Tahir Sindhu avoided to comment on a query in this regard due to lack of knowledge on the subject, but an unelected representative of PML-N Khawaja Salman Rafiq quickly jumped into the affair to rescue the minister and expressed, on behalf of the PML-N government, to develop local drug manufacturing industry. He gave a cautious response to support the Interferon project, saying that the government needs to avoid the fiasco of drug reactions earlier seen in cases of PIC drug scandal and syrup deaths during previous regime of PML-N in Punjab. "The Drug Regulatory Authority will examine the efficacy of the medicine to allow its application on the patients," he added.
The local scientists led by Prof Sheikh Riazuddin and Prof Javed Akram had achieved a major breakthrough to develop injection Interferon locally a few years ago, but the 'controversial project' could not take off due to vested interests and lack of political will of the last PPP-led coalition government in the centre. It was a major blow for the poor patients in Pakistan as the drug was far cheaper and ready for application on patients after clearance certificates from international laboratories.
Kh Salman Rafiq said that PML-N government had no vested interests, saying that the government would run such projects under the guidance of professionals. However, he said that the prices of Interferon medicine supplied by local and multinational companies have also come down substantially.
Earlier, Punjab Health Minister Khalil Tahir Sindhu emphasised government's resolve to curb the menace of quackery, which was major source of spreading diseases, including Hepatitis B & C among the patients. He said media was replete with advertisements of quacks, adding that it was our collective responsibility to discourage quackery, but again failed to give commitment to make legislation to stop such unauthorised advertisements. Former Chairman/Dean Shaikh Zayed Hospital Prof Anwaar A Khan, while emphasising on prevention, said that Hepatitis A & E were water-borne diseases, which could be prevented simply with provision of clean drinking water to the people. Although everyone may have already contracted Hepatitis A & E yet, he said, these are self-limiting viruses and fortunately do not recur in a lifetime. He advised people to use boiled water for drinking purposes. However, he said that Hepatitis B, C & D, which are blood-borne diseases, are more dangerous and need serious efforts both at government and individual levels to prevent them. He said that Hepatitis B & D could be prevented through vaccination (because Hepatitis D only occurs to Hepatitis B patients). "If any one gets Hepatitis D, then it becomes very difficult to treat it because of its complications," he said and added that the medical professionals were extremely worried about the spread of Hepatitis C among patients in Pakistan, whose vaccination could not be developed despite hectic research around the world. "The good news, however, is that Hepatitis B & C are treatable if diagnosed at an early stage," he said, adding that the recovery rate among patients in early diagnosis goes up to 80 to 85 percent. "Test and treat" is our slogan to defeat Hepatitis viruses," he said, while stressing the need to conduct regular blood screening.
He said there was no culture of a regular blood screening, saying that the Hepatitis B & C were usually detected by chance either during a surgery or at the time of blood donations. He said that the effects of Hepatitis C emerged after 25 years of its contracting in the body, which by then had badly affected the liver as it either became difficult to cure it or needed immediate liver transplantation. He stressed greater coverage of Hepatitis B vaccination through Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI), the benefits would be shown after 15 years as the new generation would have much less ratio of Hepatitis B than the one experiencing it presently.
A gastroenterologist from Lahore General Hospital Prof Ghias-un-Nabi Tayyab said the symptoms of Hepatitis B & C were not very visible, saying that if one found symptoms like unusual fatigue, low-grade fever, pain under ribs, etc, then he must get his blood test done to rule out the possibility of presence of Hepatitis virus in the body. He also advised against getting treatment from quacks and roadside dentists with used instruments, stressed on disposable blades by the barbers and avoid unnecessary contact with blood or blood products.
He also stressed on prevention and early diagnosis, saying that the Hepatitis treatment and ultimately liver transplantation were very expensive and the government would need to allocate up to Rs 2.4 million per patient for liver transplantation in the country.
MKRMS Chairman Wasif Nagi conducted the table talk, while Ali Imran and Shahzad Rauf assisted him.
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