About 4.5 per cent people have hepatitis in Tripura

Agartala, Jun 29 (UNI) Hepatitis Foundation of Tripura(HFT) has urged the state government to make Hepatitis B and C testing mandatory during pregnancy and surgery to combat spreading of the disease.

Talking to media persons here today, HFT president Dr Pradip Bhowmik said that the hepatitis incidences in Tripura were about 4.5 per cent while new-born babies were falling victim of the disease due to ignorance of the parents.

''We have initiated an extensive research project on 'Molecular Basis of Hepatitis - B' and applied for the approval of Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR),'' Dr Bhowmik stated, adding that the study would be carried out along with National Institute of Communicable Diseases(NICD) and the Tripura University.

With the increasing incidences of Hepatitis B and C in Tripura, HFT has already got the state government's sanction to organise educational programmes on hepatitis and other health issues in the schools, he said.

The HFT have been running 21 subsidised hepatitis vaccine centres in the state for the past four years and has launched HFT Diagnostic Service for providing subsidised diagnostic facilities to hepatitis B and C patients.

Dr Bhowmik, informed that the 4th Annual Conference of HFT would be held on June 30 and July 1 in Udaipur town hall.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar would inaugurate the conference on June 30, while eminent Hepatologist from School of Digestive Science and Liver Diseases, Kolkata, Dr Abhijit Choudhury will conduct health camps and deliver lecture on hepatitis.

UNI