CAIRO: The National Committee for the Control and Prevention of viral hepatitis launched Thursday the "University Awareness Campaign, which aims at preventing related diseases rather than finding a cure or facilitating medication. "Prevention is the bottom-line in fighting viral hepatitis, Doctors' Syndicate President Hamdy El-Sayyed said during the inaugural session held at Ain Shams University. Ten to 15 percent of Egypt's population suffers from various types of hepatitis diseases. "This illness is ruining peoples' lives and future and costing the state billions of pounds every year, El-Sayyed added. "It's one of the hardest to heal but the easiest to prevent. According to professor of endemic diseases at Qasr El-Aini Dr Gamal Esmat, 70 percent of hepatitis patients were infected at clinics and hospitals due to contamination. The inaugural session speakers called on medical doctors to receive vaccination and beware of possible contamination. "At some point, we will not grant physicians the syndicate membership before they are vaccinated, El-Sayyed said. In addition to raising awareness about the illness, the campaign also works on providing free HBV vaccinations for final year medical students who represent one of the key high-risk groups. Students of other colleges are entitled to discounted vaccines. Over the coming three weeks, the campaign, basically run by young people, will include a series of workshops, vaccination drives, sports activities in popular areas around the university campuses. The campaign is part of a larger initiative that will last for the next four years in cooperation with private sector sponsors and civil society groups. "Young people are expected to communicate the knowledge they will get to others within and outside their families, said pediatrician and committee supervisor Dr Manal Hamdy El-Sayyed. During the past 15 months, 10 medical centers were equipped at hospitals nationwide for treating liver disease. A total of 12,920 cases have been treated at the centers, only 8 percent of them paid for their treatment while the others were covered by medical insurance or at the expense of the state. "When I diagnose a patient of treatable hepatitis, I find myself unable to tell him he would need about 50 injections at LE 1,500 each, Dr Esmat said. The problem of many hepatitis patients, according to El-Sayyed, is that they are being discriminated against in the work environment, which he describes as an "unethical attitude. "A hepatitis patient won't have a blood transfusion at work, he said, explaining that there's no need for such discrimination. "If he doesn't die of liver disease, he will probably die of hunger.
