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Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital to check pregnant women for Hepatitis
Posted on: 30/Jul/2014 10:28:24 AM
All pregnant women who visit Institute of Social Obstetrics and Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital will be tested for Hepatitis B — a common Hepatitis that can lead to chronic infection.
Department of Hepatology at the Madras Medical College (MMC) will be starting the division at the Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for the check-up, which will benefit ante-natal mothers and prevent transmission of Hepatitis B from mother to child.
The plan for a division for Hepatitis B checkups for pregnant women in Government Kasturba Hospital comes after seeing the good response at the Government Hospital in Egmore.
Doctors point out that most people with chronic Hepatitis B or C remain unaware of the symptoms leading to a risk of developing life threatening cirrhosis or liver cancer. About 80 per cent of liver cancer cases are caused by Hepatitis, warned doctors. Hepatitis B is transmitted in the same mode as HIV and is 100 times more infectious. Tamil Nadu State Government is perhaps the first to have taken steps to provide vaccination for Hepatitis B free of cost.
