Egypt examines millions of people for free to eradicate hepatitis C,

From Mahmoud Reda Murad and Lina Masri

MITT NAMA, Egypt (Reuters) – Hwaida Mabrouk did not want to sit for the exam after hearing about a campaign organized by the Egyptian government to sift free millions of citizens to detect patients Hepatitis C medical centers for examination.

"At first, I was scared of what happened to everyone," she told Reuters in a health unit in Mitt Nama village, Qalyubiya governorate near Cairo. "I was scared of finding out if I had a virus."

After a quick blood test that took about five minutes, the nurse entered Hwaida's heart and told her that he did not have hepatitis C.

In October, Egypt launched an unprecedented campaign to screen more than 50 million adults for hepatitis C testing and treat them free of charge as part of its commitment to eradicate the disease by 2022.

Egyptian officials have described the spread of hepatitis C as one of the country's most serious health problems, saying that eradication was a priority.

The World Bank said that Egypt, with nearly 100 million inhabitants, had the highest rate of hepatitis C virus infection in the world and that 4, 4% of the Egyptian adult population was suffering from a random survey. The disease kills 40,000 Egyptians each year, making it the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.

The campaign also includes free tests to detect basic noncommunicable diseases, diabetes, hypertension and obesity. These diseases account for about 70% of deaths in Egypt.

* "A history of history in good health"

The campaign runs until April and takes place in three stages, each comprising a number of provinces.

"The initiative is a huge initiative that has a large number of people and will help change the health map of Egypt," said John Jabbour, WHO representative in Egypt.

He described the initiative as "a healthy precedent that history will record".

Hepatitis C is a disease caused by a virus that circulates in the blood. In general, acute infection with hepatitis C virus does not accompany any symptoms, but a large number of people with chronic infection develop cirrhosis or cancer of the hepatitis C virus. liver.

There is currently no vaccine against hepatitis C, but antiviral drugs can cure over 95% of people with it. The number of people infected with the disease in the world is about 71 million people.

The most common methods of infection are dangerous injection practices, non-sterilization of medical equipment, blood transfusion and blood products without examination.

The main reason for the spread of hepatitis C in Egypt is the multiple use of non-sterile injections during the country's fight against the spread of schistosomiasis several decades ago.

The World Bank said in a report published this year that the blood supply in Egypt is being tested with a technology that does not detect most infections, especially the hepatitis C virus.

The campaign, called the President's Initiative for Virus C and the Detection of Noncommunicable Diseases, is not only free for those 18 years and older, but also includes free treatment for people with these diseases.

The initiative is accompanied by an extensive advertising campaign in the various media, as well as posters and publications disseminated everywhere to encourage citizens to participate.

Posters and posters, bearing the slogan of the initiative ($ 100 million health) and the image of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, have invaded many streets of Cairo, where the campaign had resulted with the start of the second leg Saturday.

Prime Minister Mustapha Medbouli said at a press conference Thursday that 11.5 million people had been tested during the first phase of the two-month campaign. The results showed that five percent of them were infected with hepatitis C.

Health Minister Hala Zayed said the results so far show that the number of people infected with the disease in rural areas is higher than in urban areas.

On a Sunday in November, dozens of people, mostly women, arrived at the Mitt village health unit, where they grew up to undergo free tests.

"I have plenty of time to have a baby," said Hind Saad, a 30-year-old housewife who gave birth to her last child.

She said that she was aware of the importance of the campaign when she learned that her aunt had discovered hepatitis C after the tests.

* Mobile checkpoints

The World Bank is the largest donor of the campaign and the Egyptian government contributes part of its budget. According to a Cabinet press release, the World Bank provided $ 133 million for the survey and $ 129 million for the patients.

The bank said it hoped to transfer the Egyptian experience in this area to other countries.

Due to the lack of government medical centers, the Ministry of Health has set up mobile checkpoints for churches, mosques, youth centers and even streets, markets and subway stations.

In the nearby village of Bijam, the church organizes a mobile checkpoint every Sunday to facilitate the review by worshipers after Sunday Mass. The church receives its Muslim neighbors who want to conduct the examination.

"The role that has been imposed by Badri is strong, but it's clear that he's been thinking about it since he's conducting a thorough investigation of the Egyptians because of the virus we're going to get rid of," said the Damiena martyrdom leader and Anta Thomas, the tourist.

"As hospitals are not deployed in all regions, we appreciate the fact that we are helping to open a site where the analysis will help the region in its current state," he said. "If I had the opportunity to open every day, I would not have enough manpower to open every day".

The rural population of Egypt generally lacks adequate health services compared to urban dwellers. There are no dispensaries in some villages.

"We have a lot of problems, but we want to set priorities," Health Minister Hala Zayed told Reuters. "We must start with a positive initiative (…) with something that affects the entire population".

She added that the government's strategy in the fight against hepatitis C is to examine and treat all adults at once, so that the disease can no longer spread.

"When we do a survey of all people at once and treat them at the same time, prevalence rates will continue to be transmitted at one time, but if we do an investigation and treat some people and that we leave the others, the rest will be prepared, "she said.

The ministry has adopted measures to combat transmission in hospitals and health centers.

(Prepared by Mahmoud Reda Murad for the Arab Bulletin – Edit Mohamed Al Yamani)

Reuters