Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital to maintain liver disease registry

Chennai: Soon, all pregnant women who approach government hospitals in the state will be screened for hepatitis B virus (HBV), which affects the liver of the mother and the virus gets transmitted to the newborn.

The department of hepatology of Rajiv Gandhi government general hospital (RGGGH) plans to maintain a liver disease registry, in which the prevalence of the disease, details of causes and preventive measures taken by the government will be noted, so as to come out with an accurate picture of the liver problem in the state, said department head, Dr K. Narayanasamy.

This will help conduct further research in the field and to form schemes and awareness programmes to avoid liver disease, he said, and added that 2 to 4 per cent of the population in the country is affected by liver disease, while the number is between 2 and 3 per cent in the state.

As a pilot project, the test for the virus in pregnant women is being conducted for the past four months in primary health centres at 13 blocks of Tiruvallur district.

Officials from the district health department said, “The test was conducted on 1,520 pregnant women and 48 tested positive so far. These women, along with their newborns, were sent to the department of hepatology at RGGGH for further confirmatory tests, treatment and medicine, which is given free of cost.”

Dr Narayanasamy stressed on creating awareness as symptoms and signs of liver disease are noticed only at a later stage.

The most common cause for liver disease is hepatitis B virus, alcoholism and hepatitis C virus. The patient ends up with liver inflammation, cirrhosis and liver cancer, he noted.

“Around 95 per cent of people infected by the virus are cured by the body’s immunity and only 5 per cent suffer from acute and chronic diseases. Of this, only 1 per cent come for treatment,” he added.