World Hepatitis Day was observed in Bangladesh on Tuesday as elsewhere on the globe in a befitting manner aimed at creating awareness among the people to prevent the ‘silent killer’. Ascertained by the WHO, the day is observed every year on 28th July since 2010 to raise awareness on different forms of hepatitis and various methods of prevention and treatment. This year the theme of the day is “Prevent hepatitis. Act now”, which focuses on different types of hepatitis virus: what they are and how they are transmitted; who is at risk; and various methods of prevention and treatment. President M Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Health and Family Welfare Affairs Minister Mohammad Nasim, in separate messages, appreciated the observance of the day in Bangladesh. The National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh (NLFB) organised a bicycle rally this morning from Shaheed Minar. Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Sayeed Khokon, Attorney General Mahbube Alam joined the rally. NLFB also organised a roundtable meeting titled, ‘Hepatitis and Our Duties’ at the Daily Star auditorium at 11 am with President of Bangladesh Diabetic Samity (BDS) Prof AK Azad Khan in the chair.NLFB Secretary General Professor Mohammad Ali presented the key note paper while Founder President of Kidney foundation Harun Ur Rashid, Gynaecology and Obstetrics Professor T A Chowdhury were present. “Viral hepatitis – a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E – affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, causing acute and chronic liver disease and killing close to 1.5 million people every year, mostly from hepatitis B and C.
