Global Burden of Viral Hepatitis

Globally, the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are prevalent in 257 million and 71 million individuals, respectively. Hepatitis Virus causes about 1.3 million deaths per year. United Nations included Hepatitis in its Sustainable Development Goals in the year 2015. In order to eliminate hepatitis by 2030, World Health Assembly adopted the Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis in 2016. The most recent data show that 46 percent of infants received an HBV vaccination after delivery, and 87 percent of infants had received the recommended three doses of HBV immunization throughout the first year of life. Only 11% of cases of hepatitis B and C are diagnosed, making diagnostic rates extremely low. Treatment rates for hepatitis B and C are now relatively low. In 2015, 1.7 million HBV and 1.1 million HCV patients were receiving treatment, according to the Global Hepatitis Report 2017. Treatment for HCV increased by 1.76 million people in 2016, bringing the total number of patients treated for HCV from 2015 to 2016 to 3 million. There is an urgent need to locate the millions of unaccounted-for patients with viral hepatitis and to hasten hepatitis diagnosis.

Read here: //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6262254/

Hepatitis viruses come in five different subtypes: A, B, C, D, and E. A new outbreak of unexplained acute hepatitis infections in children is currently sweeping the globe. This new outbreak draws attention to the thousands of acute viral hepatitis infections that occur each year among children, adolescents, and adults. Most acute hepatitis infections are mild and may go undetected. However, in some cases, they can cause complications and even death. An estimated 78 000 people died worldwide in 2019 as a result of complications from acute hepatitis A to E infections.

Every year, more than 1.1 million people die from hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis B affects an estimated 296 million people worldwide, but only 2% of those infected receive treatment. Only 21% of the 58 million people worldwide who are infected with hepatitis C are diagnosed, and less than two-thirds of those are receiving treatment.

The WHO aims to eliminate hepatitis by 2030. Reduce new hepatitis B and C infections by 90%; reduce hepatitis-related deaths from liver cirrhosis and cancer by 65%; ensure that at least 90% of people with hepatitis B and C virus are diagnosed; and ensure that at least 80% of those eligible receive appropriate treatment.

//www.who.int/campaigns/world-hepatitis-day/2022

//www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/how-can-the-world-end-viral-hepatitis-by-2030-4-experts-explain/

Numerous people's lives have improved as a result of the advancements, the same goes for the developments in relevance to Hepatitis, with diagnostic tools, a vaccine for Hepatitis B, and a cure for Hepatitis C. Although 1.4 million people die of Hepatitis every year. Viral hepatitis kills more people in the Asia-Pacific region each year than HIV, TB, and malaria altogether. Hepatitis B is currently infecting over 180,000 newborn newborns in the western Pacific region alone through mother-to-child transmission. Only 12% of the over 360 million people with viral hepatitis in the globe are aware that they have the disease, and only 2% of them have gotten therapy. As a result, very few people truly benefited from these discoveries.

More funding is required for the eradication of viral hepatitis because large-scale investments will have both immediate and long-term favorable economic effects. On the other hand, healthy people and groups typically have more productivity, more discretionary money, and lower healthcare expenses. The data is crystal clear. For instance, every dollar invested in the eradication of hepatitis B in the Philippines will return $2.23, while every dollar spent on the eradication of hepatitis C in Vietnam will return $3.42. A year of hepatitis B treatment costs less than $30 in India, and a cure for hepatitis C costs less than $40. At these costs, eradicating hepatitis C would save money on healthcare within three years. 

//www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/we-can-eliminate-viral-hepatitis-heres-how/