the world ... and awareness of the C virus is the password

The Saudi glow is increasing in international forums, so that the nation’s young men and women receive praise, confidence and international respect, for their weight that makes them purely the world''s eyes .. And Dr. Al-Moataz Hashem Abdo Hashem is one of those young Saudi faces that have placed a pillar in the pages of excellence and success around the world to be chosen among 18 Personality in the world influencing the medical field by raising awareness of Hepatitis C.

Dr. Al-Moataz Hashem Abdo Hashem, a consultant in gastroenterology, diseases and liver transplantation, confirmed. And the Vice-President of the College of Medicine for Development at the University of Jeddah, in his interview to “The Citizen”, said that the Economist magazine chose his name among 18 influential figures in change and medical awareness with pleasure, but he believed that the main goal was and will remain health awareness and raising the level of culture about virus C in the Kingdom, whether by choice or without, and that As long as the goal is clear, we will move forward with work on it.

Virus C

Al-Moataz talked about hepatitis C and explained that it is one of the viruses spread in the world, especially in the Arab region, and it is a major cause of cirrhosis and is the first reason in the world for the need for a liver transplant.

100 cases in the Kingdom

He continued that the Kingdom, according to studies, has nearly 100 cases, pointing out that the disease, like many liver diseases, may not have symptoms for many years unless it causes fibrosis, and that the virus is transmitted with blood and its derivatives and contaminated needles as the most common causes of transmission.

He added that until recently, virus C was considered a difficult-to-treat disease, but in the last 3 years, many drugs have been discovered that reach a cure rate of more than 95% of cases, stressing awareness of it, prevention and identification of treatments for it.

Awareness

He pointed out that health awareness in general in our society needs to increase because the first step in treating any patient is to explain the disease and clarify the treatment plan, because in this way the trust between the patient and his doctor increases.

Illness and marriage

Regarding the relationship of virus C to marriage, he said that unfortunately, many marriages are canceled due to the lack of awareness of the disease and the lack of a correct understanding of it, and that the C virus has a vaccination that is given to the infected partner, stressing that the transmission of virus C through sexual intercourse is rare, and therefore in general these viruses are not A reason to prevent marriage.

Al-Hashem said that some doctors resort to social media by broadcasting and disseminating their health messages as an educational means that has its importance and its proximity to and acceptance of society, indicating that there must be education, awareness and reliable information with correct sources, and the main goal is to spread information about the disease.

False information

Unfortunately, he said, some conflicting or incorrect information is the main goal of which is spread, retweet, or fame. Instead of awareness and education, the exact opposite happens, and this is a real problem in social networks in general and in medical tweets as part of them.