Chandigarh: PGI doc appointed head of national task force for control of viral Hepatitis

CHANDIGARH: Prof Dhiman, head of the hepatology department in PGI, has been made the chairman of National Technical Resource Group for National Viral Hepatitis Control Program (NVHCP).

The group has taken into considerations the latest available evidence and global guidelines, and adapted them to the Indian context.

Viral hepatitis is a public health problem in India. Hepatitis A and E, which are water- and food-borne infections, are often the cause for sporadic cases or outbreaks of viral hepatitis in India. Hepatitis B and C infections can lead to chronicity and thereafter sequel like cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which account for majority of hepatitis B and C related deaths.

On February 24, Union minister for health Ashwini Kumar Choubey alongside Amitabh Bachchan, the goodwill ambassador for viral hepatitis, WHO South-East Asia Region, launched the programme, which will provide free diagnostics and treatment for patients with hepatitis B through the National Health Mission through out India.

The NVHCP entails free diagnostics and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and it is important to have standard diagnostic algorithm and treatment protocols that are followed across the country. These guidelines provide this standardization in a public health approach.

The treatment of hepatitis B has to be taken on a long-term basis and sometimes life long. This treatment guidance document is the collective effort of the members of the technical resource group on care and support for viral hepatitis, with representation of clinicians, laboratorians and program managers from across the country, representing different sectors.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant health problem in India. Since India has one-fifth of the world's population, it possibly accounts for a large proportion of the worldwide HBV burden.