The World Health Organization (WHO) is sounding the alarm: viral hepatitis is responsible for 3,500 deaths per day.
- In 2022, 1.3 million deaths per year were linked to viral hepatitis, as many as tuberculosis.
- This represents 3,500 deaths per day.
- Only 13% of people living with chronic hepatitis B worldwide and 36% of those affected by hepatitis C had been diagnosed by the end of 2022.
Viral hepatitis is inflammation of the liver caused by viruses. And this infection can have serious consequences. A 2024 report of the World Health Organization (WHO) dedicated to the disease reveals that the number of deaths attributable to viral hepatitis is increasing. It increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022.
Hepatitis B and C: deaths increase despite prevention
According to data collected from 187 countries, viral hepatitis is the second leading cause of infectious disease death worldwide. Of the 1.3 million deaths recorded, 83% were linked to hepatitis B and 17% to hepatitis C.Every day, hepatitis B or C kills 3,500 people worldwide“, specifies the WHO. Its director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu adds: “This report paints a worrying picture: despite global progress in preventing hepatitis, deaths are increasing because too few people are being diagnosed and receiving treatment.”
In detail, 254 million individuals were affected by hepatitis B and 50 million by hepatitis C in 2022. Half of the burden of these chronic infections concerns those aged 30 to 54, and 12% of children under 18 years old. Men represent 58% of cases.
“According to new estimates, the incidence of viral hepatitis is down slightly compared to 2019, but it remains high overall. In 2022, there were 2.2 million new infections, compared to 2.5 million in 2019. The hepatitis B virus is responsible for 1.2 million new infections and that of hepatitis C for almost a million. There are more than 6,000 new cases per day.specifies the WHO in its communicated.
Other alarming figures from the study: only 13% of people living with chronic hepatitis B worldwide had been diagnosed at the end of 2022 and only 3% of them (or 7 million) were receiving antiviral treatment. Same situation for patients affected by hepatitis C: only 36% are diagnosed and 20% (12.5 million) processed. “These results fall well short of global targets to treat 80% of people living with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C by 2030. However, they indicate small but continued improvement in screening and treatment since the last estimates reported in 2019. Specifically, for hepatitis B, testing has increased from 10% to 13% and treatment from 2% to 3%, and for hepatitis C, the corresponding figures are from 21% to 36% for screening and from 13% to 20% for treatment”indicates the WHO.
Treatment of viral hepatitis: disparities according to region
The WHO report also highlights disparities in care and prevention between countries. The WHO African Region accounts for 63% of new cases of hepatitis B infection and only 18% of newborns are vaccinated at birth. The Western Pacific region, which records 47% of deaths due to hepatitis B, only has therapeutic coverage of 23% of people diagnosed. “Which is far too low to reduce mortality”recall the experts in their press release.
In addition, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, the Russian Federation, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam together account for almost two-thirds of hepatitis cases.
“To enable the global response to turn the tide to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is essential to achieve universal access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment in these ten countries by 2025, alongside to intensify efforts in the African Region”adds the WHO.
The organization also deplores that “even though affordable generic drugs for viral hepatitis exist, many countries are unable to purchase them at low prices”.
