Haryana tightens surveillance to eliminate viral hepatitis

The Haryana government has announced a comprehensive, enforcement-driven strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat under the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme (NVHCP) , shifting from fragmented reporting to a robust, surveillance-led system with measurable outcomes.

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Sumita Misra said Hepatitis B and C, both notified diseases, require mandatory and accountable reporting. All public and private hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostic laboratories will now submit weekly reports of positive cases in a prescribed format within strict timelines. A state-level directive will fix district-wise responsibilities, and any lapse in reporting or oversight will invite The idea is to ensure accurate and timely reporting , rather than impose punitive criminal penalties. It’s more about enforcement of public health responsibilities and improving outcomes..

To institutionalise surveillance, the Health Department will develop an in-house State Digital Hepatitis Registry capturing patient demographics, risk factors and treatment status. The registry will be integrated with the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) to detect clusters and high-risk areas in real time. Existing platforms such as the NVHCP MIS Portal, HMIS, RCH Portal, Integrated Health Information Platform and U-WIN portal will be aligned to ensure unified monitoring of screening, vaccination and treatment.

A key focus will be preventing mother-to-child transmission . Hepatitis B-positive pregnant women will be tracked to ensure newborns receive the birth dose of the vaccine along with HBIG within 24 hours, with follow-up immunisation digitally recorded. Universal screening will be strengthened across maternal health services and high-risk groups, including individuals attending Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) and Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) centres, prison inmates and patients in de-addiction and oncology facilities.

The Model Treatment Centre at PGIMS, Rohtak, will be upgraded, and district officials will be evaluated on outcome indicators such as timely treatment initiation and zero loss-to-follow-up.

Other states, including Punjab, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, are also strengthening hepatitis control efforts in line with the national goal of elimination by 2030.