Punjab hospitals, health centres grapple with Hepatitis C testing kits shortage

Punjab faces a critical shortage of Hepatitis C testing kits, prompting local purchases as the state health department promises supply within a week.

Punjab is grappling with a severe shortage of Hepatitis C testing kits with the state health department stating that the same would be available within a week. Till then the districts have been instructed to make local purchases.

Rajindra Hospital in Patiala is among the facilities which have run out of testing kits.

Usually, on average, 3,000 to 5,000 Hepatitis C tests are conducted daily across the state. Due to shortage, the testing has been suspended in several districts with Patiala, Amritsar, and Bathinda districts suffering more acutely than others.

Hepatitis C, a viral infection that primarily affects the liver, is often transmitted through the use of unsterilised needles, infected blood, from mother to child, and through sexual contact. It is often referred to as a ‘silent killer’ because its symptoms typically do not appear until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage.

According to the reports, several district heads, responsible for the Hepatitis C programme, sent urgent messages to the state headquarters on Monday, requesting an immediate supply of testing kits.

Many patients are being forced to undergo the test at private laboratories which cost around ₹250.

“For the past week, we have been alerting the state nodal officer about the shortage of kits. As of today, most health centres do not have any testing kits. This is a clear case of negligence by the state health department,” said a Hepatitis C programme nodal officer, who did not wish to be named.

As per reports, the Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital (GMC and RH) in Patiala, a major tertiary healthcare facility, has also run out of testing kits.

Dr Amrit Warring, the state programme officer for Hepatitis C, confirmed the shortage of serum-based testing kits. “The kits are in transit and will be available within a week. We have instructed the districts to make local purchases for emergency purposes,” he said.