Rabat – Hepatitis is the second most common infectious cause of death worldwide, right behind tuberculosis, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest Global Hepatitis Report has indicated, noting that the disease records 1.3 million worldwide fatalities per year.
Testing and treatment coverage rates for Hepatitis have stagnated despite improved diagnostic, treatment technologies, and declining product costs, said the report. However, if world authorities take immediate action now, it should still be possible to meet the 2030 WHO eradication target, according to the report released today.
With updated data gathered from 187 countries, the report found that the projected death toll from viral hepatitis climbed from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022. Hepatitis B was the cause of 83% of these cases, while hepatitis C was responsible for 17%. Eventually, Hepatitis B and C infections cause 3,500 deaths worldwide each day.
“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,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He stressed that WHO is dedicated to helping countries reverse this trend and save lives by providing access to all available tools.
The latest data from WHO indicate that there were 254 million cases of Hepatitis B and 50 million cases of hepatitis C in 2022. People whose ages range between 30 and 54 are half as likely to have chronic hepatitis B and C infections than children under the age of 18, with 58% of cases accounted for by men.
Although the overall prevalence of viral hepatitis is still high, new incidence estimates show a modest reduction from 2019. The number of new infections decreased to 2.2 million in 2022, down from 2.5 million in 2019.
Of these, there were approximately 1.2 million new cases of hepatitis B and one million new cases of hepatitis C. Meanwhile, almost 6,000 new cases of viral hepatitis infections are reported every day.
Based on improved data from national prevalence surveys, the updated estimates were produced. They also show that the expansion of hepatitis C treatment as well as preventative strategies like vaccination and safe injection practices have helped to lower the incidence.
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