Doctors complain against hepatitis `scare-mongering'

mangalore: peeved at the way some pharmaceutical companies are resorting to misinformation and scare-mongering about the hepatitis b infection, doctors in mangalore have written a letter to union minister for health and family welfare dr c.p. thakur urging him to formulate a national policy on hbv vaccination and publicise it widely. they have requested the minister to punish the guilty for creating a scare among the public.in their letter, six doctors said some pharmaceutical firms were conducting mass vaccination camps in mangalore for immunisation against hbv. they urged him to stop this ``irrational'''' campaign designed to market the vaccine at the cost of gullible public. they said no organisation has recommended mass vaccination of people against hbv, and even the vaccination of new-born babies is not of unequivocal benefit and not universally accepted or practised. ``that being the case, we wonder how the pharmaceutical firms can organise such mass camps and how the manufacturer can become the prescriber.'''' ``if such practice is allowed to continue, it may hold ominous portents for the indian healthcare sector with drug manufacturers assuming the role of prescribers and / or policymakers.'''' they also brought to his notice `tactics'' used by the company for vaccination. they said comparing hbv with hiv and suggesting that the former is more dangerous than hiv is not only scientifically baseless, but also ``mischievous, misleading'''' and ``dangerous''''. the signatories are b.s. kakkilaya, k. mohan pai, u.v. shenoy, b.s. baliga, chakrapani, krishnaprasad, e.v.s. maben, srikala baliga, all doctors, and aravind rao, biochemist. the company had also claimed to administer `international quality vaccine'' at subsidised rates. when the correspondent checked the prices, the so-called `subsidised'' price was at least 25 per cent higher.