Hepatitis C screening is now available at Justice Houses of Georgia
Screening corners were arranged in 12 Justice Houses throughout Georgia. Photo: Public Service Hall.
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The programme to eliminate Hepatitis C is expanding in Georgia.
In addition to medical institutions, screening will now also available at Public Service Halls.
Screening corners were arranged in 12 Public Service Halls throughout Georgia and since October 10, 2018, free screening has been available to the public.
So far 6,401 people have gone through screening free of charge at the Justice Houses of Georgia of which 180 people had a positive result.
About 20,000 people visit Public Service Halls every day, the majority of which may not have time for visiting special laboratories for screening. They will be able to get this service at the Public Service Hall and in case of disease detection they will be able to get involved in the state programme of Hepatitis C elimination”, read the press release by the Public Service hall.
About 50,000 patients are involved in the Hepatitis C elimination state programme in Georgia, of which 98.2% have been cured.
Around 45,000 people have gone through medical treatment for Hepatitis C in Georgia, 98 percent of which were cured, the head of Georgia’s National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze said.
Georgia’s Health Ministry has launched a new campaigned titled Cure Yourself in order to encourage the people to be tested on Hepatitis C, as the disease has no symptoms until too late.
Those living in Georgia’s occupied regions but do not hold a Georgian passport will be able to benefit from the free Hepatitis C treatment program Georgia offers its citizens.
US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly said his country will continue supporting Georgia with its Hepatitis C elimination program.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has stated that he is sure that Georgia will be become one of the first states worldwide which will manage to completely eradicate Hepatitis C.
Georgian Health Minister David Sergeenko says there is a risk the country’s Hepatitis C elimination programme may come to an end.
The Ministry of Health of Georgia has been awarded a certificate of an exemplary country combating Hepatitis C by the European Association for the Study of the Liver and International Liver Foundation in Austria.
The prevalence of Hepatitis C has decreased by 67 percent in Georgia compared to previous years, Tamar Gabunia, the Georgian Deputy Health Minister, said on Thursday.
The World Health Organisation has unveiled its Collaborating Centre on Viral Hepatitis Elimination at Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control, with the move enabling the country to develop laboratory capacity and share its success in eliminating the disease , the Georgian Health Ministry announced on Tuesday.