KHUJAND, December 24, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- The first 32 hepatitis C patients in northern Tajikistan have begun receiving hepatitis C treatment due to the US-made medical preparation Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) provided by the Project HOPE, head physician of the Khujand city infectious diseases hospital Sharif Rajabov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

“Another 30 residents of the province are currently undergoing medical examination on suspicion of having contracted the disease and in case of necessity they will also receive treatment with this expensive medicine free of charge,” the head physician said.

During six-month treatment with once-weekly Pegasys, hepatitis C patient receives 24 injections.  One ampoule of this medical preparation costs US$509 and treatment of one patient comes to US$12,500, Rajabov said.  He added that the consignment received by the Sughd province is enough to treat 60 patients.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease that is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), affecting the liver.  The infection is often asymptomatic, but once established, chronic infection can cause inflammation of the liver (chronic hepatitis).  This condition can progress to scarring of the liver (fibrosis), and advanced scarring (cirrhosis).  In some cases, those with cirrhosis will go on to develop liver failure or other complications of cirrhosis, including liver cancer.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact.  No vaccine against hepatitis C is available.  The symptoms of infection can be medically managed, and a proportion of patients can be cleared of the virus by a course of anti-viral medicines.  Although early medical intervention is helpful, people with HCV infection can experience mild symptoms, and consequently do not seek treatment.  An estimated 150-200 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C.