Egypt conducts screening for first-year elementary school students

The Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt said that more than 1.6 million first graders have been screened for hepatitis C as part of the national 100 million health initiative in the 2023/2024 school year. This is reported by Daily News Egypt, a partner of TV BRICS.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar clarified that the plan is to screen more than two million primary school students this year and provide treatment to identified patients. The initiative has reached 76.4 per cent of the target.

Mohamed Dhahi, President of the General Authority for Health Insurance, noted that the screening is carried out by qualified medical teams using rapid reagents. 

Heba Said, general coordinator of the initiative, added that positive cases are sent to 24 specialised liver committees for further screening and analysis. Paediatricians are trained on approved treatment protocols.