Spike in hepatitis C cases due to intravenous drug abuse in Shimla

Subhash Rajta

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 16

The Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and Hospital has registered a significant increase in the number of hepatitis C cases in the past one year. And the reason behind the majority of the cases is the growing intravenous drug abuse in the state, particularly in Shimla district. “We have seen about 150 cases of hepatitis C at the IGMC in the past one year or so. Except for a few kidney-related cases, the majority of people contracted the disease due to the use of intravenous drugs. They used a common needle to inject drugs and contracted hepatitis C,” said Dr Brij Sharma, Head of Gastroenterology Department.

“From 2009 to 2019, I had seen just five to 10 cases of hepatitis C contracted through the use of IV drugs at the IGMC. In little over a year, this number has increased manifold. The sharp rise in hepatitis C cases due to drug abuse is alarming and we need to make our youths aware of its dangers to health,” said Dr Sharma.

A majority of the hepatitis C patients were young. “Most of the patients we received were in the age bracket of 20 to 35 years, with a handful of them even younger than 20,” said Dr Sharma. “Most of them were from Shimla district, and only a few from Kinnaur district. The disease could prove dangerous, if left untreated,” he said.

Incidentally, Shimla district has been a hotbed of drug abuse for a while now. In the first meeting last month, the Shimla Zila Parishad members had expressed serious concern over the growing prevalence of drug abuse among the youths in the district.