ABSTRACT
Background: Pakistan is a developing country of 180 million people with low health and educational standards. According to the Human Development Index of the United Nations, it is ranked 146[th] out of 187 countries
Objective: To know the actual disease burden of Chronic Hepatitis Viruses B and C in Southern Punjab. Study Design: Cross-sectional, Observational study. Setting: Ibn-e-Sina Hospital and Research Centre. Period: March 2010 to February 2014
Methodology: A total of 26800 people from general population were included in the present study. Free vaccination camps were established in rural and urban union councils with the help of local politicians, in Schools, Madrassahs and Industrial units and a permanent camp was established in Ibn-e-Sina Hospital. People of all age groups and either sex were vaccinated
Results: A total of 26800 individuals were screened, [mean: 36.47 +/- 13.81]. 2090 [7.8%] tested positive for Anti-HCV. Among these 68.6% [n=1433] were males while 31.4% [n=657] were females. 616 [2.3%] tested positive for HBsAg of which 401 [65.2%] were male and 215 [34.8%] were female. 75 subjects [0.28%] were positive for both HBsAg and Anti-HCV
Conclusion:- We as a community need to be more vigilant as the disease burden of HBsAg is not decreasing in the general population and the Burden of Anti-HCV is one of the highest in the world