According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the screening of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) helps reduce incidence of new infections by 90% by 2030, Allah willing. As a part of its awareness campaign launched last week under the title (Give Your hand), MOH indicated that the new drug to treat HCV contributes to preventing the death of more than 4,000 patients as a direct result of HIV complications. It added that the screening helps to reduce cases of liver cancer caused by HIV by 95%, and the direct health care costs for HCV patients by 50% by 2007, as well as reducing new infections by 90%.
The traditional treatment of HCV increases the number of liver cancer to 520 cases, or 210% annually by 2030. It also increases the liver failure cases to around 1,600, an increase of 420% annually, and the mortality rate caused by HIV complications to 580 cases, an increase of 290% annually, as well as increasing the incidence of new infections by 2% by the same year.
Through an Infographic published in its twitter page, MOH reviewed the three types of hepatitis: A, B and C, and the symptoms of each type separately. It pointed out that Hepatitis C virus causes both acute and chronic infection, and is not usually symptomatic, with serious complications.
It is worth mentioning that the campaign comes as a continuation of MOH’s efforts to maintain both health and safety of all community members, to boost health lifestyles and alleviate disease burden