Hyderabad: Incidence of Hepatitis is as high as 10 per cent in Mahabubnagar and Guntur districts in the two states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, according to analysis by a recent mass screening programme by Apollo Hospitals. Doctors said that high incidence of Hepatitis A and E virus is found in urban areas where the contamination is via food and water. In the districts, the incidence of Hepatitis B and C was found high because the transmission was through infected needles, blood or sexual transmission.

Dr Naveen Polavarapu, senior gastroenterologist said, “Hepatitis A and E are self-limiting viruses where the treatment ensures that the virus dies and does not survive for long. But in rural areas, it was found that the transmission is generally due to blood and body fluids. The virus in one person gets transmitted to others due to these routes. Contamination of water and foods were not issues in these areas.”

Re-use of needles in rural medical facilities is one of the reasons for the increasing number of cases of Hepatitis B and C. Experts state that of the 3.6 billion injections used every year in India, 62.9 per cent are in an unsafe manner. Dr Kiran Peddi, consultant gastroenterologist explained, “The re-use of needles in rural areas in both the states is estimated to be about 30 per cent because of the large number of quacks operating.”

Patients do not notice onset early:

Ninety per cent of the people become aware that they were suffering from hepatitis only after attending awareness camps or mass screening programmes, say experts.

Dr P B S S Raju, consultant gastroenterologist said, “Carriers of the virus Hepatitis B and C have no symptoms of the disease for as long as 20 years. Some of them come down at the end stage with liver cirrhosis.”

Dr K Shivaraju, head of the department of general medicine said, “Children less than six years infected with Hepatits B develop chronic infections by the time they are in their teens as their immunity is low. Many require aggressive treatment.”