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“52 million Indians carrying viral Hepatitis” – World Health Organisation
“95% of Hepatitis patients don’t notice infection”, reads a headline on the healthcare section of The Times of India. going deeper into the issue, we can find staggering statistics put together by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which indicates that 52 million people of India are affected with chronic hepatitis. Apart from these chronic cases, infectious Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E are spreading fast. And the worst part is that 95% of the patients do not even notice how sick they are falling until it is too late, leading to rising number of severe liver fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis and liver cancer in our country and unfortunately, it is going undetected in most of the cases.
These statistics are staggering not only for Hepatitis but also other infectious diseases, such as Dengue, Malaria and TB, especially during the Monsoons in India. This problem is more severe in the slum regions due to lack to medical facilities as well as ignorance. That is why, the Health vertical of Mumbai Smiles, with its project on Infectious Diseases, conducts regular health camps in the select community to test for five infectious diseases such as Dengue, Malaria, TB, HIV and Leprosy to ensure that these diseases are either caught in time, or are avoided. In areas like Marol, Sangharshnagar, Kanjurmarg, Powai and Vikroli, we have four outreach clinics, who generously help us with health camps, especially on Sundays when most of the community members have the time for getting themselves tested.
We hope to expand our reach soon to more areas and continue with the support of our generous collaborators and donors!
Meanwhile, let us all remember to take some simple steps to stay disease free, such as:
- Must wash hands before each meal.
- Must drink boiled water.
- Must wash hands and feet after coming from outside, especially if got dirty in the rains and mud.
- Must eat lot of fruits and green vegetables to stay healthy and boost immunity.
- Must drink at least three litres of water a day to stay hydrated.
These simple steps will ensure the basic check of the necessary nutrition balance in our body and will help us stay away from diseases as well!
This information is so good…. Mumbai Smiles takes initiative for spreading the awareness of dengue, Malaria, and others & you are running 4 clinics also in slum areas….. so I thanks for Infectious disease project team.