TEHRAN – Hepatitis C is cured by Iranian medicine over the course of 3 to 4 months, a member of the Iran Hepatitis Network, Mehdi Saberi Firouzi, said, Mehr reported on Sunday.

The Iranian-made medicine for Hepatitis C is covered by the insurance, he added.

Hepatitis types B and C are prevailing in Iran and considered as chronic diseases which may result in cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer, he explained.

“We have several plans for the eradication of Hepatitis C in Iran. The disease is curable by using a pill for 3 to 6 months.”

Saberi Firouzi said that complete eradication of the disease needs coordination between related organizations and allocation of adequate budget.

Referring to the World Hepatitis Day, which is held annually on July 28 in Iran, he said since the Iranian calendar year 1372 (March 1993-March 1994), newborns in the country have been receiving Hepatitis B vaccine.

Held by Iran Hepatitis Network, the event is an opportunity to introduce recent achievements about hepatitis.

In July 2018, the Iran Hepatitis Network announced that Hepatitis C has been eradicated in patients with hemophilia in three provinces of Lorestan, South Khorasan, and Gilan, respectively west, east, and north of the country.

According to the World Health Organization hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. The virus can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis, ranging in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.

The hepatitis C virus is a blood-borne virus and the most common modes of infection are through exposure to small quantities of blood. This may happen through injection drug use, unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, and the transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products.

Globally, an estimated 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C infection and a significant number of those who are chronically infected will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Approximately 399 000 people die each year from hepatitis C, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Antiviral medicines can cure more than 95 percent of persons with hepatitis C infection, thereby reducing the risk of death from liver cancer and cirrhosis, but access to diagnosis and treatment is low.

There is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C; however, research in this area is ongoing.

SB/MG