For 45-year-old Prajakta Juwekar*, World Hepatitis Day today is very special as after two years of battling with the disease, she is now free from it.
A resident of Ghatkopar, Juwekar was detected with breast cancer six years ago.
As she successfully overcame it, she was diagnosed with hepatitis C two years ago. Her condition got so bad that she was referred for a liver transplant.”
“Initially, when we put her on treatment, her platelet counts went low. The platelet count fell to dangerous levels below 4,000 and she started bleeding,” said Dr Aabha Nagral,consultant gastroenterologist and hepatologist at Jaslok Hospital.
The team of doctors then decided to go for life-saving drugs meant for increasing the platelet count. “Luckily it worked in her case. After a turbulent year and a half, she is now virus-free and resuming her normal life. Our biggest achievement was that she didn’t need a liver transplant,” said Dr Nagral.
There are five main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. (see right)
“Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) infections are silent diseases that remain asymptomatic for decades. Due to lower awareness, more than 80 percent HCV patients and over 60 percent patients with HBV are diagnosed at a stage when the disease is irreversible,” said Dr Rakesh Rai, liver transplant expert at Fortis Hospital.
*name changed
DNA
A resident of Ghatkopar, Juwekar was detected with breast cancer six years ago.
As she successfully overcame it, she was diagnosed with hepatitis C two years ago. Her condition got so bad that she was referred for a liver transplant.”
“Initially, when we put her on treatment, her platelet counts went low. The platelet count fell to dangerous levels below 4,000 and she started bleeding,” said Dr Aabha Nagral,consultant gastroenterologist and hepatologist at Jaslok Hospital.
The team of doctors then decided to go for life-saving drugs meant for increasing the platelet count. “Luckily it worked in her case. After a turbulent year and a half, she is now virus-free and resuming her normal life. Our biggest achievement was that she didn’t need a liver transplant,” said Dr Nagral.
There are five main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. (see right)
“Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) infections are silent diseases that remain asymptomatic for decades. Due to lower awareness, more than 80 percent HCV patients and over 60 percent patients with HBV are diagnosed at a stage when the disease is irreversible,” said Dr Rakesh Rai, liver transplant expert at Fortis Hospital.
*name changed
DNA
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