A report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the 2024 Global Hepatitis Report, has revealed that the number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis is increasing.
The disease is the second leading infectious cause of death globally with 1.3 million deaths per year, the same as tuberculosis, a top infectious killer.
The report, released at the World Hepatitis Summit, highlights that despite better tools for diagnosis and treatment, and decreasing product prices, testing and treatment coverage rates have stalled.
"If swift actions are taken now, reaching the WHO elimination goal by 2030 should still be achievable," part of the report read.
New data from 187 countries show that the estimated number of deaths from viral hepatitis increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022.
Of these, 83 per cent were caused by hepatitis B and 17 per cent by hepatitis C. Every day, 3500 people are dying globally due to hepatitis B and C infections.
“This report paints a troubling picture. Despite progress globally in preventing hepatitis infections, deaths are rising because far too few people with hepatitis are being diagnosed and treated,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Ghebreyesus reiterated that WHO is committed to supporting countries to use all the tools at their disposal - at access prices - to save lives and turn this trend around.
WHO in their report further estimates that 254 million people live with hepatitis B and 50 million with hepatitis C in 2022.
Half the burden of chronic hepatitis B and C infections is among people 30–54 years old, with 12 per cent among children under 18 years of age. Men account for 58 per cent of all cases.
The new incidence estimates indicate a slight decrease compared to 2019, but the overall incidence of viral hepatitis remains high. In 2022, there were 2.2 million new infections, down from 2.5 million in 2019.
These include 1.2 million new hepatitis B infections and nearly 1 million new hepatitis C infections. More than 6000 people are getting newly infected with viral hepatitis each day.
The revised estimates are derived from enhanced data from national prevalence surveys. They also indicate that prevention measures such as immunization and safe injections, along with the expansion of hepatitis C treatment, have contributed to reducing the incidence.
