Hepatitis Screening Pakistan: Get Checked Before It’s Too Late

Pakistan carries the heaviest hepatitis screening Pakistan gap of almost any country on earth: an estimated 13.8 million people are living with hepatitis B or C, yet only 25–30% of them know it. Most walk around for years with a silently damaged liver, discovered only when jaundice, swelling, or a medical emergency finally forces a hospital visit. This guide explains what hepatitis actually does to your body, why Pakistan’s burden is so uniquely severe, and how a CARELINE eEVA™ examination can catch the early physical signs your liver is already showing — long before a lab test becomes urgent.

Table of Contents

• What Hepatitis Actually Does — and Why It Hides
• Why Pakistan Carries the World’s Heaviest Hepatitis Burden
• How CARELINE’s eEVA™ Helps Catch It Early
• What You Can Do Starting Today
• How to Book a CARELINE Examination
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Hepatitis Actually Does — and Why It Hides

Hepatitis B and C are viral infections that inflame the liver, and both share a dangerous trait: they are frequently symptomless for years. Hepatitis C in particular is often called a “silent epidemic” because a person can carry the virus for a decade or longer with nothing more than mild fatigue, while the virus quietly scars liver tissue in the background. By the time visible symptoms appear — yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), dark urine, pale stools, persistent nausea, abdominal swelling, or unexplained itching — a significant portion of the liver may already be affected by fibrosis or cirrhosis.

This is precisely why a hepatitis screening in Pakistan cannot rely on patients waiting for symptoms to prompt a doctor’s visit. The infection spreads primarily through unsafe medical practices most people don’t think twice about: reused syringes, poorly sterilized dental and surgical equipment, unregulated blood transfusions, and even routine barber-shop shaves with shared blades. A single unsafe injection at a local clinic or an unlicensed dentist’s visit is often the only exposure a patient ever has — and they never learn about it until the disease has already progressed.

Left unchecked, chronic hepatitis B and C progress toward liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and in a meaningful share of cases, liver cancer. All three are far more survivable, and far cheaper to treat, when caught in the early, symptom-free stage — which is exactly the stage that routine screening and physical examination are designed to catch.

Why Pakistan Carries the World’s Heaviest Hepatitis Burden

According to the World Health Organization’s Pakistan office, the country carries the highest hepatitis C burden of any nation globally, with roughly 10 million people infected with hepatitis C and an additional 3.8 million living with hepatitis B — a combined national prevalence WHO has repeatedly flagged as a public health emergency. WHO estimates hepatitis C causes around 19,000 deaths a year in Pakistan, with hepatitis B contributing another 12,000, and both death tolls have been rising, not falling, over the past decade.

A national surveillance analysis available via PubMed Central found that out of a population of over 110 million adults screened over a recent four-year window, fewer than 300,000 individuals were actually tested for hepatitis B or C — a screening rate so low that the vast majority of infected Pakistanis will never be diagnosed through routine healthcare contact alone. Rural populations face the compounding problem of unregulated healthcare providers, informal “quacks,” and dental or barber services with no sterilization oversight, all of which continue to drive new transmissions even as urban centres slowly improve blood-screening standards.

For families, this translates into a very real and very Pakistani risk profile: a grandfather who had routine dental work done twenty years ago, a mother who received a blood transfusion during childbirth, or a teenager who got a tattoo or piercing at an unregulated shop — any of these ordinary life events can be the single exposure that seeded a chronic infection nobody has ever tested for.

How CARELINE’s eEVA™ Helps Catch It Early

CARELINE was built to close exactly this gap between “should get screened” and “actually gets examined.” Through our telehealth services, a DRAP-licensed doctor uses the eEVA™ device to perform a real physical examination remotely — not a phone conversation, but an actual clinical assessment. For liver health specifically, the examining doctor can visually inspect the whites of your eyes and skin tone for the faint early yellowing that patients themselves often miss in normal lighting, assess for abdominal tenderness or swelling associated with an enlarged liver, and evaluate your general condition alongside your reported symptoms and risk history.

This matters because early hepatitis rarely shouts — it whispers through subtle skin changes, mild fatigue, or a barely noticeable change in eye colour that a family member is far more likely to catch on a screen during a focused eEVA™ exam than a patient is to notice in a bathroom mirror. When the doctor identifies findings consistent with liver disease, or when your exposure history (old surgeries, transfusions, dental work, tattoos) puts you in a higher-risk group, they can refer you promptly for confirmatory hepatitis B and C blood testing — turning a vague worry into a concrete next step within the same consultation.

Read more about how the examination works on our general information page, or see our recent piece on chronic kidney disease in Pakistan for more on how silent organ diseases are caught before they become emergencies.

What You Can Do Starting Today

• Get tested at least once, especially if you’re over 30. A one-time hepatitis B and C screening is inexpensive relative to the cost of late-stage liver disease, and WHO recommends at least one lifetime test for all adults in high-burden countries like Pakistan.
• Think back on exposure risk: past surgeries, dental procedures, blood transfusions, tattoos, piercings, or shaves at informal barber shops all raise your risk and are reasons to prioritise testing sooner rather than later.
• Watch for early physical signs: unusual fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest, mild yellowing of the eyes noticed by family members before you notice it yourself, dark urine, pale stools, or persistent right-upper-abdomen discomfort.
• Never reuse or accept reused syringes, and confirm that any clinic, dental office, or piercing studio you use follows visible sterilization practices.
• If you’re already diagnosed, don’t assume nothing can be done — modern antiviral treatment cures the vast majority of hepatitis C cases and effectively controls hepatitis B, but only if you’re identified and connected to care.
• Get family members screened too. Hepatitis B can spread within households through shared razors or toothbrushes, so a positive diagnosis in one family member is a reason to test everyone living with them.

Learn more about what to expect during a first visit on our how it works page.

How to Book a CARELINE Examination

Booking a real clinical examination with CARELINE takes minutes. Message our team on WhatsApp at +92 310 2145333 — available 24/7 — describe your symptoms or risk history, and our team will schedule an eEVA™ consultation with a DRAP-licensed physician (Import Licence: ELI-EN00000073). Our doctors cover general medicine, gastroenterology-adjacent concerns, cardiology, pulmonology, ENT, dermatology, and ophthalmology, so whatever your liver-related symptoms bring with them, the right specialist can assess you without a hospital visit. Currently serving Karachi, with expansion underway to Lahore and Islamabad. Learn more about our team and mission on the About Us page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CARELINE telehealth?

CARELINE is Pakistan’s certified telehealth provider, using Finland’s eEVA™ device to let DRAP-licensed doctors perform real clinical examinations remotely — not just a video conversation, but an actual physical assessment of your eyes, skin, abdomen, and vitals.

How does eEVA™ work?

eEVA™ is a connected examination device that transmits high-resolution visual imaging, digital stethoscope audio, temperature, and oxygen saturation to the examining doctor in real time, replicating what a physician would assess in a physical exam room.

How much does a CARELINE consultation cost?

Consultation pricing varies by service and specialist. Message us on WhatsApp at +92 310 2145333 for current rates for your specific need.

Is CARELINE available outside Karachi?

CARELINE currently operates in Karachi and is actively expanding to Lahore and Islamabad. Message us on WhatsApp to check availability in your area.

Is CARELINE DRAP certified?

Yes. CARELINE operates under DRAP Import Licence ELI-EN00000073, in partnership with Finland’s 73Health, which is EU GDPR compliant.

Can eEVA™ diagnose hepatitis directly?

eEVA™ does not replace a laboratory hepatitis B or C blood test, but it allows a doctor to physically examine your eyes, skin, and abdomen for early signs of liver disease and take a detailed risk history, then refer you promptly for confirmatory testing if warranted.

Hepatitis Pakistan’s numbers are stark: 13.8 million infected, and most don’t know it. A liver that’s quietly scarring gives almost no warning until it’s serious — but a focused physical examination can catch the early signs your body is already showing. Message CARELINE on WhatsApp at +92 310 2145333, available 24/7, and get examined properly — one heartbeat away.