Those at risk urged to get screened for Hepatitis C

KUALA LUMPUR: Asnah Hamdan suspected something was wrong when she had bruises all over her body during a blood transfusion following the loss of her second child more than 35 years ago.

The 66-year-old former Malaysian Railways employee from Perak said during a routine medical check 10 years later, her doctor casually said: “Asnah, your blood has something.”

But he did not suggest any follow-up.

Asnah said she never had any symptoms. “I didn’t feel sick at all.”

Recently, Asnah needed to have a tiny cyst removed from her upper lip and a blood test before the procedure detected the Hepatitis C virus.

While she was not afraid when informed, her husband of over 50 years had a hard time accepting her diagnosis because his late cousin only knew of her Hepatitis C status towards the end of her life.

But Asnah reassured her husband that the doctors would keep a watchful eye on her and that he need not worry.

“He wants to know why I’ve not been given any medication. It gives him great pain,” she said.

A person may be infected with Hepatitis C for 20 to 30 years before developing symptoms. Left untreated, it can cause liver cirrhosis or liver cancer. Today, there is a cure for Hepatitis C with only three months of treatment.

Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan, a consultant physician and gastroenterologist at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah in Alor Setar, urged those at risk, especially people who injected drugs and shared needles and those who had blood transfusions before 1990, to get tested. “You can get cured,” he assured. The good news is, Asnah’s husband need not worry anymore – Asnah will begin treatment in August as free treatment in government hospitals has been made available since March.

World Health Organisation Representative to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore Dr Lo Ying-Ru called for increasing access to Hepatitis C testing and treatment. She urged people in high-risk groups to step forward to be tested as there is now a cure.

While congratulating the government for increasing the number of hospitals for treatment, Dr Lo said they should come up with a comprehensive national action plan on viral hepatitis which covered all aspects such as prevention, diagnosis and treatment.