Kathmandu, September 30:

Hepa Foundation (HF) will organise a rally tomorrow to mark the World Hepatitis Awareness Day to raise awareness about the Hepatitis in Nepal with a theme ‘Get Tested.’

Speaking at a press conference organised by HF today, Anil Karki, president of HF, said that the rally would begin from the Dasrath Stadium and end at the UN House. “We would submit a position letter mentioning the status of Hepatitis in Nepal to the UN to make them aware of Hepatitis so that they take some initiative to begin awareness campaigns for Hepatitis,” he said.

A case study done among 200 people in Kathmandu, most of them from the highly vulnerable groups like sex workers, people living with AIDS, drug users and others revealed that 70 per cent of them were unaware about Hepatitis. The other 30 per cent knew very little about the disease.

According to WHO, Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, most commonly caused by a viral infection. There are five main hepatitis viruses referred to as types of A, B, C, D, and E of which A and E are typically caused by ingestion of contaminated food and water.

Hepatitis B, C and D usually occur as a result of contact with infected body fluids. Hepatitis B is also transmitted through sexual contact and Hepatitis C has been compared to Viral Time Bomb.

WHO has estimated that about 180 million people, some three per cent of the world population, is infected with Hepatitis C virus (HCV), 130 million of who are chronic HCV carriers at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

It is estimated that three to four million people are newly infected each year, 70 per cent of who will develop chronic hepatitis. HCV is responsible for 50 to 76 per cent of all liver cancer and two thirds of the liver transplantation in the developed countries.

“With reference to WHO, we have estimated that around 1.5 million people in Nepal are infected with hepatitis A, B and C. Hepatitis A is transmitted through polluted water, unhygienic food etc; so Nepalese are more likely to be infected with Hepatitis A due to poverty and malnutrition,” Karki added.