CUTTACK: When around three crore people in India are affected by Hepatitis-B, there is a lack of awareness on the risk factors involved with the disease, said chairman of Kalinga Gastroenterology Foundation (KGF) and president, South Asian Association for Study of Liver (SAASL) Prof Shivaram Prasad SinghHe was speaking after inaugurating an art camp on Hepatitis-B organised by Katak Artist Organization (KAO) in association with KGF at Gadagadia temple here on the occasion of Utkal Divas on Saturday.
Only 25 per cent were aware about the disease in a survey conducted 10 years back by KGF, while efforts are being made to disseminate knowledge and creating awareness about this silent killer disease for the last 23 years. Now, even 5 per cent of the people are not aware about the various risk factors, Prof Singh said.
Prof (Dr) Niranjan Rout, who attended the inaugural function as the chief speaker, and guest of honour Sudha Singh emphasised on awareness and adherence to precautionary measures.
As many as 22 artists, which included Jitendra Sahu, Bijay Kumar Sahu, Tejaswini Samantsinghar, Manisha Kar among others participated in the art camp.People from different walks of life visited the art camp and appreciated the arts created on Hepatitis-B, which will be exhibited in National River Conference to be held at Bhubaneswar from August 3 to August 6.The KAO in association with KGF is also going to organise an inter-school poster competition on Hepatitis-B at Kala Vikash Kendra on April 9, where around 200 school students of 25 schools.