BADIN, Jan 19: The district administration has made screening for Hepatitis-B & C mandatory for the recently appointed officials in all government departments. The tests are included in medical fitness certificates.

The DCO Agha Wasif Abbas issued these instructions at a meeting of the heads of different government departments. He said Hepatitis-B virus was transmitted through a number of means, including contact with infected blood. This was to assure that no employee was a carrier of virus, he said.

On the other hand, DPO Fida Hussain Mastoi had issued directives to Civil Hospital administration for screening Hepatitis-B and C of the newly-appointed incumbents in police department and sending their medical report to his office instead of handing over to the employee.

The Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Moosa Memon told journalists that 779 police constables appeared for medical fitness examinations out of which 27 were found carriers of the disease, including six with Hepatitis-B positive.

He said that the disease was curable and all detected cases would be referred for further tests of Elise and the PCR to get the future prospect of the job seeker secured.

The two tests are so costly and the job seekers facing hardships as they cannot afford Rs4,500 for the test of PCR and Rs1,000 for Elise test.