Dubai: Dubai Health Authority (DHA) on Monday announced the inclusion of free screening and treatment for Hepatitis C under the basic benefit plan of the Dubai Mandatory Health Insurance Scheme.
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HVC). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), around 399,000 people die each year from Hepatitis C, mostly from cirrhosis and liver cancer, often due to late diagnosis of the disease.
Presently, prevalence of the disease in Dubai is approximately 0.23 per cent of the population.
Humaid Al Qutami, director-general of the DHA, said that in line with the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; and also in line with the UAE Vision 2021 Plan; DHA aims to provide the highest quality of health services to everyone living in Dubai.
Al Qutami said: “Ninety-eight per cent of the population in Dubai has the mandatory health insurance scheme and thus focusing on preventive medicine through this scheme ensures wide coverage and directly benefits the community. The programme will especially help those with limited coverage; it will lead to early diagnosis and reduce complications and provide financial and emotional support to patients with Hepatitis C.”
Cabinet resolution
In 2016, the Cabinet had issued a resolution on infectious and communicable diseases, which included a provision for the screening and mandatory vaccinations for Hepatitis B and C to a larger pool of workers in special categories, Gulf News had then reported.
The viral hepatitis vaccination for Hepatitis B and C had earlier been implemented for hospital staff, food handlers and sanitation workers. Following the 2016 resolution, a larger group of people in special categories, such as domestic labourers and nannies, were included.
The 2016 resolution had amended a 2008 cabinet resolution. Under the changes, tests for viral hepatitis were restricted to those coming to work in the UAE for the first time. Nannies, housekeepers, domestic workers and supervisors at nurseries and kindergartens were to be tested for Hepatitis B during visa renewal too.
Also, those working in salons, beauty centres, health clubs and sanitation workers were to be subjected to tests for viral Hepatitis B and C.
Visas were not to be granted or renewed for positive cases unless applicants changed the purpose of request for residence visa.
As per the resolution, all negative cases of new visa applicants from these categories of workers were to be vaccinated for the disease in three doses and given a certificate to prove they had received the vaccine.
For cases tested negative, applicants renewing their residence visa would have to produce a certificate of vaccination.
Covering cancer
On Monday, Al Qutami said that in December 2017, Dubai became the first government body in the world to cover screening and treatment of three types of the most curable cancers.
Al Qutami said: “Providing the whole community with such wide-scale preventive screening mechanisms has been possible because of the support of our partners, both government and private.”
‘Another milestone’
Ahmad Al Nuaimi, CEO of joint corporate support services at DHA, said: “This [announcement on Hepatitis C] is yet another milestone in terms of health insurance coverage after we launched the Basmah initiative in 2017. Under this initiative, if a patient is detected with Hepatitis C, the DHA Patient Tracking and Follow-Up Centre is automatically notified. They ensure that the complete treatment process for the patient is smooth and streamlined.”
In 2017, the funding department added screening services for diabetes, heart disease, new born and developmental screening as part of the mandatory health insurance cover with an aim to provide holistic health screening services under the insurance umbrella.
What is Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. The virus can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis, ranging in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.
The hepatitis C virus is a blood borne virus and the most common modes of infection are through exposure to small quantities of blood. This may happen through injection drug use, unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, and the transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products.
Globally, an estimated 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C infection.
A significant number of those who are chronically infected will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer.
Approximately 399,000 people die each year from hepatitis C, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (type of liver cancer).
Source: World Health Organisation
