Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -Health experts have called on the Health Ministry to add direct-actingantiviral Agents (DAAs) into list of drugs that public health insurance coversso patients with Hepatitis C are treated more effectively.

DAAs or new combinations of drugs directly target the hepatitis C virus indifferent ways to stop it making copies of itself. DAAs promise shortertreatment times, much higher cure rates and fewer side effects.

Assistance Professor Dr Do Duy Cuong, head of Infection Department under BachMai Hospital, spoke about the new medicine at a July 24 meeting marking WorldHepatitis Day (July 28).

Cuong said that currently, there were 50 types of DAAs and the cure ratereached up to 95 percent.

However, cost treatment using DAAs was high while public health insuranceparticipants did not have health insurance pay for the medicine, Cuong said,adding that 90 percent of patients with Hepatitis C could not receive DAAstreatment.

“The Health Ministry should speed up allowing the medicines to be circulated inVietnam and public health insurance should co-pay it with the health insurancefund and patients at a reasonable proportion,” he said.

Hepatitis C is a “silent killer” because it has no obvious symptoms but can beextremely dangerous and, in some cases, life threatening, according to theVietnam Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (VLBA).

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be transmitted by blood, tooth extraction andunprotected sex, and the number of infected people in the country isincreasing. In the early stages of the disease, most hepatitis C patients haveno symptoms and it does not affect their, so most people do not realise whenthey are infected, according to experts.

A patient’s health can be severely affected when HCV transitions to cirrhosisand liver cancer. Patients at this stage have anorexia, indigestion, swellingin the legs, muscle aches, cramps, numbness, itching, dizziness, fatigue andtrembling hands. Severe complications such as gastrointestinal bleeding, fluidretention in the abdomen and drowsiness can occur.

Assistance Professor Dr Nguyen Quoc Anh, Bach Mai Hospital director, said therewere about 10 million people carrying Hepatitis B and nearly 1 million peoplecarrying Hepatitis C in the country.

“About 10-15 percent of the population was infected with Hepatitis B. Thedisease can develop quickly, causing liver failure and liver cancer,” Quoc Anhsaid.

Despite the fact that there was Hepatitis B a vaccine, the disease was stillburdening both the health sector and patients because of life-long treatment,he said.-VNS/VNA