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With the approval of the Ministry of
Health, Egypt’s National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis launched
its first national hepatitis C virus (HCV) patient registry on October 18.
According to Dr. Wafaa El-Akel, executive manager of the HCV patient registry,
Egypt has the highest percentage of HCV infections worldwide. She stated that
about 10 percent of Egyptians have HCV infection. Dr. El-Akel noted that the
network is important in that it helps assess the extent of issues associated
with the virus, helps maintain quality patient care, and prevents infection by
analyzing new data and determining the most common means of infection.
Dr. Wahid Doss, dean of the National
Liver Institute, noted that the registry ushers in a new era in controlling the
disease in Egypt by centralizing records for patients receiving treatment at
liver centers nationwide. So far, it contains records of more than 32,000
patients. He anticipates the project will transform HCV treatment by
effectively managing resources to get the highest cure rates, closely
monitoring patient progress, and tracking the number of injections dispensed to
determine patient compliance. Dr. Doss expressed gratitude for Hoffmann La Roche’s
support and efforts toward treating HCV in Egypt and the Academy of Scientific
Research and Technology.
The National Committee launched the
National Project for hepatitis C treatment in 2006, and more than 240,000
patients have been treated at the state’s expense at 23 liver centers
nationwide. The Ministry of Health has spent approximately 2 billion Egyptian
pounds ($300 million) to support the project and has worked with manufacturing
companies to provide globally-approved treatments at the lowest cost worldwide.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit:
http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
