WHO Raises Alarm Over Rising Viral Hepatitis Deaths
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report today, Tuesday, April 9 2024, indicating that the viral hepatitis virus kills 3,500 people every day worldwide.
This virus poses a serious threat to public health, as the number of deaths from this virus has increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022.
Despite progress in prevention, the proportion of people with chronic hepatitis B “B” who receive antiviral treatment remains low (3%), and only 20% receive treatment for hepatitis “C”.
These results are worrying and indicate that we are far from achieving the global targets for treating these patients by 2030.
Africa accounts for 63% of new hepatitis “B” virus infections, however, only 18% of newborns in the region receive a dose of the hepatitis “B” vaccine at birth. This highlights the importance of expanding access to testing and diagnosis of the disease to limit its spread.
Given the availability of affordable generic drugs, countries need to take rapid action to reach the target of treating 80% of people with chronic hepatitis B “B” and hepatitis “C” by 2030.
