The Ministry of He alth (MoH) today pleased the "Hristo Geshov" Foundation and several other non-governmental organizations, which are launching the National "Hepatitis next to me" campaign. The campaign started with a symbolic pouring of yellow paint in front of the Ministry of He alth to show how easily any person can get infected.
Minister Petar Moskov has made a commitment to provide the foundation with a mobile laboratory for up to two months, with which volunteers can travel around the country and test for viral hepatitis free of charge. Funding will be sought under European programs for screening tests.
A hepatitis B and C screening kit costs BGN 6. In a laboratory, the test costs about BGN 40 for one type of hepatitis.
“For now, there is no way to do screening in hospitals. We will do it on the street. And people just don't feel like going to hospitals. Seeing a laboratory in a market or square, they will stop for three minutes and examine themselves. The practice is that those with a positive result of the screening are sent to the regional hospitals, where the examination is paid for through a clinical pathway", explained Hristo Geshov from the foundation of the same name, after his conversation with Minister Moskov.
There are currently no official statistics on the number of hepatitis B and C carriers in Bulgaria. There is talk of 500,000 to 800,000 people.
The state allocates about BGN 4 million per quarter for the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis.
