"Affectionate killer" comes quietly

The purpose of this action is to raise people's awareness about the disease, methods of its prevention, increase the number of people who have immunized. The motto of the holiday this year is the slogan: "Warn the hepatitis. Act without delay. "

According to the WHO, about 180 million people are infected with the hepatitis virus in the world today, and 130 million are chronic carriers, 3-4 million are infected annually, 70% of them develop a chronic form. Viral hepatitis is included in the list of socially significant diseases.

Today, medicine knows of hepatitis A, B, C, D, E. "G". Hepatitis "A" is also called "jaundice", more common in children and has no serious consequences. Hepatitis "B" and "C" are the most dangerous forms of the virus, transmitted through the blood, do not have any symptoms.

Against the backdrop of global morbidity indicators, the situation in Azerbaijan may seem favorable at first glance. According to research, in the country infected with viral hepatitis B and C account for 2-2.5% of the adult population (18-60 years). Approximate number of patients with hepatitis C is 150 thousand people. approximately the same number and patients with hepatitis B. This indicator is below the world percentage (4%). At the same time 280-320 new cases of infection with hepatitis viruses (A, B, C and other forms) are registered annually.

Chairman of the Commission for the treatment of persons infected with viral hepatitis, the Ministry of Health, Murad Mammadov, considers the epidemiological situation in this sphere to be stable, not very different from Europe. For several years in Azerbaijan, a program has been implemented to help patients with hepatitis, under which patients are provided with medicines for free.

However, some doctors, with whom Turan correspondent spoke, expressed doubts about the objectivity of statistics on the incidence of hepatitis.

"Chronic viral hepatitis can for a long time be asymptomatic. When problems occur with the liver or an operation is to be performed and a blood test must be performed beforehand, it turns out that a person is suffering from hepatitis C. In my practice there have been several cases when the patient suddenly found out that he is infected, he needs urgent and prolonged treatment. From this it can be concluded that we have significantly more hepatitis patients than indicated in official statistics. The detection of the disease is a matter of time and chance," says plastic surgeon Emin Alizadeh.

On the hidden nature of the disease, the lack of screening to identify the infected and assess the incidence of hepatitis indicates the head of the laboratory of one of the capital's clinics, Shahla Nasirova. According to her, dozens of people go to the laboratory every day to analyze the blood.

"Unfortunately, in many people the diagnosis is confirmed. Among them there are not only drug addicts using an infected syringe, but also people of different professions: someone had blood transfusions at birth, another had a tooth removed, a third - manicure, etc. Infection occurs through the blood. The amount of blood does not matter. Only one drop can cause disease. Remains of blood can be found on instruments for medical and non-medical manipulations - surgical and endoscopic research, manicure, tattooing, ear piercing and other types of piercing," the expert emphasizes.

How to protect yourself from hepatitis? Doctors advise not to get involved in tattooing and manicure in salons (it can be done at home, with your own devices), go to specialized clinics where the instruments are sterilized. Every year they check for hepatitis, the simplest and cheapest (in private clinics) examination - a card test. If the patient receives a positive response to the presence of the hepatitis virus, then there is a checkup on all protocols - a viral load on the body, the determination of the virus's genotype and the level of fibrosis. The hepatitis C virus is treated from three months to a year. Three months - to destroy the virus and plus 6 months in order to get confirmation that the patient got rid of it.