The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a stark warning on Tuesday, revealing that more than 3,500 people succumb to hepatitis viruses each day, marking a concerning upward trend in global fatalities.
The WHO emphasized the urgent need for decisive action to combat this pervasive threat, which stands as the world’s second-largest infectious killer.
Recent data from 187 countries underscored the grim reality, indicating a rise in deaths attributed to viral hepatitis, reaching 1.3 million in 2022 compared to 1.1 million in 2019. Meg Doherty, head of the WHO’s global HIV, hepatitis viruses, and sexually transmitted infection programs, described these statistics as “alarming trends” during a press conference coinciding with the World Hepatitis Summit in Portugal.
The WHO report unveiled that daily fatalities from hepatitis infections total 3,500 globally, with 83% attributed to hepatitis B and 17% to hepatitis C. Despite the availability of effective and affordable generic drugs to treat these viruses, the report highlighted dismal treatment rates.
By the end of 2022, merely 3% of individuals with chronic hepatitis B received antiviral treatment, while only 20% of those with hepatitis C, constituting 12.5 million people, underwent treatment.
Doherty expressed concern that these treatment rates fall significantly below the global targets set to reach 80% treatment coverage for all individuals living with chronic hepatitis B and C by 2030.
Although there has been a slight decrease in the overall rate of hepatitis infections, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that the report paints a troubling picture. Despite strides in preventing hepatitis infections worldwide, rising death tolls underscore the critical need for improved diagnosis and treatment access.
The report highlighted Africa’s disproportionate burden, with 63% of new hepatitis B infections occurring on the continent. Shockingly, less than one in five infants in Africa receive hepatitis B vaccination at birth, exacerbating the region’s vulnerability to the virus.
Additionally, the WHO lamented the limited access to generic hepatitis drugs in affected countries, where exorbitant prices hinder treatment efforts.
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According to the report, two-thirds of all hepatitis cases are concentrated in ten countries, including Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, and Vietnam. The WHO emphasized the urgency of achieving universal access to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in these nations by 2025, alongside intensified efforts in the African region, to realign the global response to hepatitis.
Viral hepatitis stands as the second-biggest infectious killer globally, trailing narrowly behind tuberculosis, underscoring the imperative for coordinated action to stem its deadly impact on communities worldwide.
