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WORLD GASTROENTEROLOGY NEWS OCTOBER 2018
Editorial | Expert Point of View | Gastro 2018 | WDHD News | WGO & WGOF News | WGO Global Guidelines | Calendar of Events
Additional Resources for More
Information
Click on the links below to learn more
about World Hepatitis Day and join
the global movement!
World Hepatitis Day Website
World Hepatitis Alliance
NoHep Website
Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Viral Hepatitis Webpage
World Health Organization Website
American Association for the
Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) -
The Liver Meeting® 2018
Visit WGO at booth #152 at the
American Association for the Study
of Liver Diseases - The Liver Meeting
® 2018: Walter E. Washington
Convention Center, Washington DC,
November 9-13, 2018!
Read about a couple of World Hepatitis
Day celebrations that took place in
Portugal and Pakistan in 2017!
The Present and
Future of Hepatitis C in
Portugal
Guilherme Macedo,
WGO Treasurer and
Director of the WGO Porto Gastroenterology
and Hepatology Training
Center
To celebrate the World Hepatitis
Day, on 28 July 2017, the Portuguese
associations SOS Hepatitis and
the Group of Activists in Treatment
(GAT), with the support of Merck
Sharp & Dohme (MSD) Portugal,
presented the short film “HEP C
FREE” on 27 July, 5:30 pm at São
Jorge Cinemas in Lisbon. Directed
by Academy Award®-winning director
Cynthia Wade, the short film focuses
on the true testimony of four hepatitis
C patients who share their experience:
the reasons that led them to take
drugs, the moment when they discovered
they were infected and their
struggle for healing the virus induced
liver disease. These are stories with different
starting positions, which have a
common point: addiction.
After the short film display, there
was a debate with the main specialists
in the area, the SOS Hepatites and
GAT patients associations, focused on
the main limitations felt by patients
in access to treatment. The debate was
attended by Emília Rodrigues, president
of the association SOS Hepatites,
Ricardo Fernandes, executive director
of the Group of Activists in Treatment
(GAT), Professor Rui Marinho,
Hepatologist of Santa Maria Hospital
Lisbon and Professor Guilherme
Macedo, Director of Gastroenterology
Department of the São João Hospital
and Director of the WGO Porto
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Training Center.
Hepatitis C is a silent disease,
which affects the liver and is asymptomatic
over time. About 500 million
people are infected with Hepatitis C
and are unaware of it. This disease
is transmitted through contact with
contaminated blood, either by transfusion,
accidents with contaminated
material or by means of injectable
drugs. In Portugal it is estimated that
between 0.7 and 1% of the population
has Hepatitis C (70 t0 100 thousand
patients) but only 30,000 have
been diagnosed. Beyond the challenge
of trying to diagnose all the infected
individuals that are still unaware of
their condition, an innovative project
of treatment of hep c in prisons that
São João Hospital / WGO Porto
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Training Center recently launched was
also discussed. It demonstrated that
this model of outreaching to difficult
populations is feasible and realistic,
and in fact provided the backbone
for a national program for treating
prisoners.
Watch the full documentary here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_
0x_32KX1ZY&feature=youtu.be. You
will be enlightened with this experience.
Hep C celebrations in Pakistan
Mushtaq Safi, MBBS, FCPSII gastro,
MRCP II UK
World Hepatitis Day was celebrated
in Pakistan on 28 July 2017 to produce
awareness in people and how
to prevent entry of virus (s) into the
body. The event was coordinated by
Dr. Mushtaq Safi and chaired by Prof.
Aamir Ghafoor. Doctors, nurses,
paramedical staff, patients, their attendants,
government representatives and
hospital administrators participated
in the event with full blown print,
electronic and social media coverage.
Prof. Aamir Ghafoor briefing media on how to
prevent, control and treat hepatitis.
Past Health Minister Shaukat Yousafzai addressing
the media.