Addressing media persons Friday evening at the LCS building Kohima, Regional coordinator International Treatment Preparedness Coalition-South Asia Henminlun (Loon Gangte) said Hepatitis C was a curable and preventive disease and said 96,000 people in India were dying because of this preventive and curable disease due to ignorance.
Gangte said Hepatitis C was not thought to worsen HIV, but that may make HIV treatment more complicated, which was because the liver processes most in HIV drugs.
He said little information about Hepatitis C huge amount of money could be saved and said till today no NGO/Government or heath ministry in the center has raised concern about Hepatitis C.
Terming Hepatitis C as “Viral time Bomb”, Gangte said the disease was exploding in the state and cautioned state government and NGOs of ignorance.
He said if the state government could establish clinic in all districts delivering equal treatment like the treatment that was being carried out by NHAK, the disease could be fought.
He said intervention of the state government would definitely defuse the bomb. Also, convenor Hepatitis Coalition of Nagaland” (HepCon) and president Indian Drug Users’ Forum (IDUF) Abou Mere, in his address, said the graveness of Hepatitis C situation in Nagaland was well documented by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) through the Integrated Bio Behavioral Assessment (IBBA) study.
