(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Some two percent of people screened in a random survey by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) were diagnosed with hepatitis C viral infection.
Among them 79 percent were Egyptian, 4.7 percent were Qatari, eight percent were Pakistani and eight percent were others.
The study found that screening helps in early detection of hepatitis C and can help reduce the disease burden.
It recommended implementing practical and strong national policies to eradicate hepatitis C viral infection form Qatar, as there is a trend of cases of the disease increasing in the country, said Dr Manik Sharma, a gastroenterology consultant at HMC, speaking at the National Viral Hepatitis Symposium.
'Screening for hepatitis C in Qatar: A community-based survey' was conducted between 2008 and 2010.
Its primary aim was to detect infection with hepatitis C antibodies randomly, assessment of the prevalence rate, disease characteristics and response to standard treatment.
The survey was done in three phases. Phase one lasted six weeks and 400 hospital visitors were screened. Among them 33 were at risk of developing the disease.
In the second phase, 3,212 people were screened in shopping malls over six weeks and 31 were found positive.
In phase three, lasting 24 weeks, 6,492 people at high risk of developing hepatitis C were screened and 208 were diagnosed with the illness.
A total of 13,704 people at average and high risk were screened and 272 (two percent) were found with hepatitis C antibodies. Among them, 193 participated for evaluation, nine were found to have minimal disease, and 60 people underwent liver biopsy.
Then 68 people were given treatment for hepatitis C and 45 responded to the treatment, Dr Sharma said in a presentation.
Those screened were aged between 15 and 50 years. The male-female ratio was 13:1, and many of them weighed between 80kg and 100kg.
According to the World Health Organisation, the burden of hepatitis C is increasing in the Middle East.
In Middle East except for Egypt the exact prevalence is unknown. A rough estimate of prevalence of hepatitis C in the Gulf countries is known through blood bank registries. The available data is based on prevalence of anti hepatitis virus antibodies.
In Qatar, anti-hepatitis C viral antibodies among blood donors were measured at 0.06 percent. In Bahrain this figure is 0.30 percent, in the UAE it is 0.11 percent, in Saudi Arabia is 0.65 percent and in Kuwait 3.1 percent.
Around 180 million cases of hepatitis C found each year and 18,000 die due to the illness around the world.
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease affecting primarily the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The infection is often asymptomatic, but chronic infection can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is generally apparent after many years. In some cases, those with cirrhosis will go on to develop failure, liver, or life-threatening esophageal and gastric varices.
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