THE Magway general hospital will open a Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment center in August, the 10th such center in Myanmar, to provide free treatment to patients suffering from HCV, said Dr Khin Sandar Aung, the manager of the National Hepatitis Control Programme.
HCV treatment centers have been opened at Yangon, Mandalay, and Nay Pyi Taw general hospitals since 2017, while similar centers were set up in Myitkyina and Mawlamyine hospitals in 2018.
“The Magway general hospital is planning to set up a new treatment center. We are going to provide training to staff. Some of the medicines and laboratory equipment have already been sent to the Magway general hospital.
We expect to provide free treatment to 200 to 250 patients initially,” said Dr Khin Sandar Aung at a ceremony to mark World Hepatitis Day, held on 30 July at the Nan Htike Thu hotel in Magway. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated hepatitis as a public health issue and is aiming to eliminate it by 2030. Myanmar is cooperating with WHO in combating hepatitis.
The Ministry of Health and Sports is planning to conduct a survey on HCV incidence in Myanmar in 2019-2020. “Magway has got a chance to provide free HCV treatment under a WHO project.
Therefore, patients with HCV will receive free medical care at the Magway general hospital,” said Prof Dr Thin Thin Nwe, Medical Department, Magway University of Medicine. According to a 2015 survey, 6.7 per cent of Myanmar’s population had contracted Hepatitis B and 2.7 per cent had Hepatitis C.
Although there is no preventive medicine for Hepatitis B, we can provide treatment to eliminate hepatitis, said an official at the World Hepatitis Day ceremony.—Zayyatu (Magway)
(Translated by Hay Mar)
