MEERUT: Below Poverty Line (BPL) patients suffering from chronic Hepatitis C (CHC) infection in Uttar Pradesh can now get treatment free of cost at PL Sharma District Hospital here. The treatment normally costs nearly Rs 1.5 lakh at private hospitals.The CHC centre was formally inaugurated on Thursday. It will be run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, the reputed international medical humanitarian organization. The clinic will provide latest drugs, called direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), to patients.Giving details, Ghada Khemmisi, field coordinator, MSF, said, "The aim of the project is to establish an effective and a simplified model of care and to share best practice for replication by state government. As an organization, MSF strongly believes that not only should treatment be accessible but also affordable for everyone. While we ensure both by providing free care in this clinic, we do believe that affordable access to diagnostics and treatment for all is important and this can only happen through concerted efforts of national governments."Hepatitis is an infection of the liver. There are various types, but types B and C are the most serious, as those can lead to chronic liver disease, liver failure and even cancer. For hepatitis C, there is no vaccine. The disease is caused by unsafe blood transfusion, use of unsterilized equipment by medical practitioners and sharing of needles among drug users.Dr PK Bansal, superintendent-in-chief, PL Sharma District Hospital, said, "As many as three doctors will be on duty from MSF to diagnose and treat Hepatitis C. They will function from out patient department (OPD) and if need be more space will be allocated to them, but otherwise they are solely responsible for the treatment. This is a one-of-its-kind medical project in the state and I am very happy that we at PL Sharma District Hospital are taking the lead in finding an effective model of care for treating those suffering from Hepatitis C."Since January, the clinic has screened close to 1,000 patients and has put 356 patients on treatment free of cost, but the formal inauguration was done on Thursday by Meerut divisional commissioner Prabhat Kumar.TOI had earlier reported that some districts in western UP have emerged as a Hepatitis C hotbed, according to various studies undertaken by experts in gastroenterology. One such study reported by TOI earlier revealed that Hapur, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar districts showed a 15% positivity rate to Hepatitis C against the national average of 1%, which came to the fore in an assessment of 5,000 persons examined across 30-odd camps by Dr SK Tyagi, a private practicing gastroenterologist in Meerut.

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