Delhi became the first city in the country to begin screening for the `silent killer` Hepatitis C.
An initiative of the Delhi Government, the screening is being conducted at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in order to prevent the spread of the deadly virus that manifests after 15 to 20 years as Cirrhosis and liver cancer in the infected person.
As a preventive measure, hospitals in the city will soon have the latest specific measure -- nucleic acid testing (NAT)-- of all blood in order to reduce the residual risk of transmission of Hepatitis C
