Delhi govt to provide free Hepatitis C drugs

New Delhi: The Delhi government will soon make the remaining two crucial drugs for treating Hepatitis C free of cost, Health Minister Satyendra Jain said.

Out of the four drugs available for treating the disease, two are already being provided free of cost by the city government.

Speaking at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) here on the occasion of 20th Hepatitis Day, the minister underlined the AAP government's commitment to fighting the hepatitis infection.

"We will cooperate with health institutions like ILBS to promote health and well being of people of Delhi," a statement quoted him as saying.

ILBS director S K Sarin said children get hepatitis from their mothers for no fault of theirs.

"Everyone should be aware and take a pledge to get every new-born vaccinated. And I request the government to make Hepatitis a notifiable disease," Sarin said.

The health minister also inaugurated state-of-the-art Mobile Liver Screening Van and Healthy Liver Healthy Delhi Project.

Launched under the project titled 'Healthy Liver Healthy Delhi', the liver screening van aims to raise awareness about Hepatitis and provide free liver screening to people of Delhi NCR.

The van will have on-board Fibroscan a test that assesses stiffness of liver without the need for skin invasion. It will also collect blood from volunteers for liver screening tests for Hepatitis B and C, and other parameters associated with liver diseases.