Dimapur, May 12: The state government failed its people and their health by not formulating any program or policy to address diseases such as hepatitis although treatments are available. The people continue to die in spite of treatments being available and the only way to respond to the ‘negligence’ is mass ‘involvement of the larger society,’
speakers at a recent health program in Zunheboto said.
With the stated aim to contribute to tackling Hepatitis-C and tuberculosis, the Nagaland Users’ Network conducted a workshop on May 10 with key stakeholders at the Satakha Area GBs’ Union Hall in Satakha town, under Zunheboto.
The organizers said in a note issued though the media on Wednesday community leaders and civic organizations, churches and medical units, security forces and police of the area attended the event.
The first session focused on Hepatitis C. The resource persons discussed the nature of Hepatitis-C as a disease of the liver and its routes of transmission, diagnostics, and new directly-acting antiviral treatments.
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, abdominal pain, and yellow tinged skin occur. The virus persists in the liver in about 75% to 85% of those initially infected. Early on chronic infection typically has no symptoms. Over many years however, it often leads to liver disease and occasionally cirrhosis. In some cases, those with cirrhosis will develop complications such as liver failure, liver cancer, or esophageal and gastric varices.
Stressing on the importance of HCV to be of concern in the state, resource person Ketholelie lamented that the state government had failed its people by not formulating any program or policy to address the HCV burden in the state. The people continue to die in spite of treatment being available, he said. The speaker called for mass ‘involvement of the larger society’ in response to the neglect of the disease. Among others, the concept of Targeted Intervention programs was also discussed.
The second session was moderated by Renbonthung Tungoe of the Nagaland Users’ Network. He talked about tuberculosis, diagnosis and treatment for it. The resource person said that TB was a killer disease with India as the “highest TB burden country in the world where Nagaland also contributes to the country’s prevalence.”
According to Tungoe, TB was an airborne disease and can significantly infect people if proper preventive measures are not taken. He spoke about the basics routes of transmission, how it is diagnosed and the various treatment facilities available in the state.
The discussion focused on the various types of TB such as LTBI, pulmonary/extra Pulmonary TB, MDRTB and XDRTB, and how it is treated with different categories of drug regimes. “TB is fully curable if proper medical intervention is sought in time,” he said.
The resource person also spoke about the need for the community to exert concerted efforts in response to the curable disease. Responding to TB should not be confined to a particular community but should be a concern for everyone; the community should play a big role in monitoring the functioning of government run facilities and the quality of treatment made available by the government in their respective areas, he said.