Posted: 7-Oct-2005 << BACK
Hepatitis C Campaign Targets East London - Muslim Weekly 7th Oct 2005
BY HAMZA A. BAJWA -
A hepatitis C public campaign was launched in East London last week opposite The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.
Opal Greyson, a Hepatitis Nurse, stood in front of a large campaign billboard in the middle of Whitechapel Road market waving a pamphlet and beckoning passers-by to take a free hepatitis C test.
Hepatitis C is a virus that primarily attacks liver cells, the largest organ in our body, although it is now known to also affect other parts of the body. The liver, being a very complex organ, performs some 500 functions; broadly categorised as:
Production of the chemicals needed in many of the bodys vital processes
Detoxification of toxic drugs and chemicals
Management of the bodys energy sources
Combat of infections
And though it is extremely hardy and can operate when badly damaged, the type of continuous assault typical of hepatitis C eventually begins to interfere with these functions.
The virus itself is very good at evading the bodys defensive response from the immune system. Hence, this protective reaction to destroy the virus is negligible and the virus will progress, albeit slowly, developing into a chronic infection leading to severe liver damage called cirrhosis (extensive scarring), which is also known to cause liver cancer. All this has a knock-on affect on other parts of the body, such as: kidney damage, jaundice, thyroid disease, diabetes, and appetite and weight loss resulting in malnutrition. The virus is carried in the blood and is both very infectious, through blood to blood contact, and extremely resilient, capable of surviving in a droplet of blood for up to three months. Hence, the sterilisation of equipment and medical tools that regularly come into contact with blood, such as, dental and tattooing equipment, is extremely important.
Shahnaz Ahmad, a former hepatitis C patient, who volunteered to assist at the campaign stand, contracted the disease through the use of unsterilised medical equipment during a blood transfusion in Pakistan. However, the hepatitis C symptoms were recognised and early treatment administered due to which a full recovery was made. Its going to be three years this December since I was cured, she declared.
However, not many are as fortunate as Shahnaz in discovering they have the disease and then to do something about it, especially those from the ethnic minority groups.
Charles Gore, Chief Executive of The Hepatitis C Trust and President of the Liver Patients Association, told The Muslim Weekly that this campaign was done in order to raise national awareness where he believes little has been done to raise public awareness. Mr Gore expressed the seriousness of this issue saying, 6 out of 7, maybe in as much as 9 out of 10 of people with hepatitis C actually dont know they have it.
Although the government launched a campaign of their own in December of last year, he said it was very general, very under funded and very low key and did not have the impact needed. His concern was that certain groups of the population were not properly targeted. The cause behind this, he said, was negligence and though steps were being taken to rectify this, such as, the translation of information leaflets into various languages, a much more targeted approach was needed because the government campaign had not really done anything. Hence, the main aim behind this campaign project is to:
Identify the routes of transmission including what the specific risks are.
Identify the languages in which information should be provided and identify the media through which it should be provided, e.g. newspapers, community press, radio and television.
Focus on culturally specific issues in order to find the best possible way of conveying the message across.
Mr Gore mentioned that a group that was not properly targeted due to this governmental negligence was the South Asian community amongst whom his Trust had been doing some work. The campaign started in Manchester amongst the Bangladeshi and Pakistani community due to anecdotal evidence suggesting that prevalence rates could be very high since the rates in Bangladesh and Pakistan were variously estimated to be between 1% and 13%. Mr Gore said, It seems that from experience and from our helpline, there are a number of first generation immigrants from those countries who got infected through medical intervention during childhood. So, they have had it for a long period of time, mostly without symptoms. They turn up at hospital Accidents and Emergency only when they get very ill and possibly when its too late to do anything about it. And were desperately concerned to get at this group and get them tested before that happens.
The campaign itself, he said, was enormously supported. Mr Gore delivered a talk to over 40 Bangladeshi women in Manchester who were not only incredibly pleased to be informed, but would go and get tested and pass the message on to others.
The East London campaign also involved Professor of Hepatology Graham Foster, an academic at Queen Marys School of Medicine and Dentistry and a consultant at Barts and The London NHS Trust.
Prof Foster in conjunction with doctors from Barts and The London NHS Trust, is offering free tests to people born in Bangladesh and Pakistan with the aim of finding out how many had contracted the virus and those most at risk. Its very unfortunate that we havent done proper research 15 years after we discovered this virus, Prof Foster said.
He too criticised the governments campaign saying, All the information thats been given out by the government about hepatitis C focuses on drugs users. So if youre a Bangladeshi or Pakistani citizen that doesnt use drugs, you will quite rightly ignore hepatitis C because it doesnt apply to you. Mr Gore described this approach as inappropriate and offensive. It is for this reason that 500 free tests have been offered at East London Mosque to acquire the necessary information needed to achieve a successful campaign, facilitate in acquiring extra resources and extend this to other communities.
Prof Foster expressed his gratitude for the support of East London Mosque as absolutely fantastic. He said, What theyve done is to publicise the study, provide us with interpreters and rooms with facilities, and I have to say that without their full cooperation and support it just wouldnt have been possible. I really cant praise them enough.
He also spoke of the manner in which the community had responded. Theyve been very supportive of the initiative. Weve had people bringing their friends along and people interpreting for complete strangers just because they would like them to be tested and protected.
One of the biggest problems facing the campaign is funding. Prof Foster said that a proposal had been forwarded to the Department of Health, who said they were considering it. These funds would assist in expanding the project into a nationwide campaign that would encompass the first and second generation born in the UK, who frequently travelled to Bangladesh and Pakistan, and that this would be a first of a long line of studies conducted. He also said that he wrote to local MPs including George Galloway and recently deposed Oona King, but up till now has received no response.
Prof Foster emphasised an important point in relation to the type of virus (genotype 3) common in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was very sensitive to treatment he said, stressing, 80% of people with this virus can be cured by relatively short treatments. Its absolutely critical on picking the virus up early [because] once the liver is badly scarred, it gets very insensitive to treatment. So theres a real premium on finding people now, treating them and curing them.
Likewise, Shahnaz Ahmad specifically encouraged women not to feel shy. She said, Definitely go have a test because it can be treated easily, reminding them, This is a great opportunity for free which they wouldnt be able to get back home.
The tests will be carried out during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which was deemed religiously permissible by the mosque Imam, and Prof Foster welcomed the Bangladeshi and Pakistani community to come along to the mosque and chat to them. However, he urged that more women volunteer to be tested since up till now, out of the 150 already tested, only about 20 were women. He said, I want to have equal number of men and women to work out if there are particular problems in women or men.
As for the results, the people tested would be informed promptly, and those tested positive would be contacted directly.
To find out when the next hepatitis C tests are, please contact East London Mosque:
42-92 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1JQ
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7650 3000
Facsimile: +44 (0) 20 7650 3001
Email: info@eastlondonmosque.org.uk
The hepatitis C helpline is open Monday to Friday from 12.00 to 6.00pm (12.007.00pm on Thursdays) providing confidential, friendly and professional support and information: 0870 200 1 200 (calls charged at national rate)
For more information, visit the Hepatitis C Trust website:
http://www.hepCuk.info/
