Punjab is hit by a shortage of Hepatitis C testing kits. About 3000 to 5000 Hepatitis C tests are carried out daily in Punjab. Due to insufficient testing kits, the services have been abruptly stopped in Patiala, Amritsar, Bathinda, and several other districts. According to some media sources, it is being reported that the Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital (GMC and RH) in Patiala have also exhausted the testing kits, further deepening the crisis.
Why is a shortage of testing kits a cause of concern?
Hepatitis C is a bloodborne infection caused by the Hepatitis C virus causing liver inflammation. It is estimated that every year there are about 1 million new cases of hepatitis C infections. There are about 50 million prevalent cases of hepatitis C infection all around the globe. As it is bloodborne, it can occur by exposure to the infected blood. The duration of the illness can be either short-term or long-term, depending on the severity of the infection. Hepatitis infection, if left untreated, can lead to liver damage and can also be life-threatening.
The hepatitis C infection usually resolves within 6 months in approximately 30% of patients, whereas chronic infection occurs in the other 70% of patients and requires immediate intervention.
Hepatitis C is not spread through contaminated food or water, breast milk, or direct contact with an infected person, like hugging or kissing, or sharing food. Hepatitis C is only spread by:
sharing of needles or syringes,
unsterilized blood transfusion procedure,
unsafe injection use
can also transfer from a mother to a child
sexual contact
Usually, the infected persons are asymptomatic, but the most common symptoms persons infected with Hepatitis C show are:
fever
feeling tired
nausea, vomiting
joint pain
loss of appetite
jaundice, dark urine
Diagnosis and testing:
WHO recommends early testing for people at increased risk of infection, as early diagnosis helps in preventing further serious complications and also prevents the spread of infection.
A blood test should be done to identify the anti-HCV antibodies, which confirm the presence of infection.
After identifying anti-HCV antibodies, a nucleic acid test for HCV RNA should be done to determine the degree of chronic infection.
As the hepatitis C virus affects the liver, liver biopsy and liver function tests should be done to assess the extent of liver damage.
Blood donor screening is suggested by WHO in patients whose HCV antibody seroprevalence is high.
It is also being reported that keeping in mind the need for the testing kits, several district heads of the Hepatitis C program have sent an urgent message to the state headquarters to immediately arrange the testing kits.
For the past week, we have been alerting the state nodal officer about the shortage of kits. As of today, most health centers do not have any testing kits. This is a clear case of negligence by the state health department.
Program Nodal Officer of Hepatitis C
Reacting to the shortage of testing kits, the state health department has assured that the kits will be made available within a week and ordered that till then purchases should be made locally for emergency purposes.
“The kits are in transit and will be available within a week. We have instructed the districts to make local purchases for emergency purposes.”
Dr. Amrit Warring, the state program officer for hepatitis C
Due to this shortage of testing kits, several individuals are suffering as they have to spend 250 rupees to take the test at private laboratories.
REFERENCES:
1. World Health Organization: WHO & World Health Organization: WHO. (2024, April 9). Hepatitis C. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-c
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/Dr. Siddiqua Parveen/MSM)
