Context

• Recently the World Health Organization (WHO) released the Global Hepatitis Report for the year 2024. According to this, the number of people losing their lives due to viral hepatitis is increasing.

Key Points

• Data from 187 countries collected through this report revealed that the estimated number of deaths due to viral hepatitis has increased from 11 lakh in 2019 to 13 lakh in 2022.
• Of these, 83 percent of deaths were due to hepatitis B and 17 percent were due to hepatitis C.
• The World Health Organization has warned that more than 3,500 people are dying every day from the hepatitis virus.
• It is noteworthy that about two-thirds of the cases of hepatitis B and C infection are collectively in Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia and Vietnam.

Current status of diagnosis

• Despite progress globally in preventing hepatitis infections, the number of deaths is increasing. The main reason for this is that very few hepatitis patients are being diagnosed and treated.
• In this report released during the World Hepatitis Summit, the UN Health Agency said that although better tools for diagnosis and treatment are now available and their prices are also falling, testing and treatment coverage rates have not increased.
• Despite this, if immediate and rapid action is taken, it may be possible to reach the WHO eradication target by 2030.
• The latest WHO estimates indicate that 254 million people were living with hepatitis B and 50 million with hepatitis C in 2022.
• More than half of the people infected with severe hepatitis B and C are in the age group of 30 and 54, including 12 percent children. In 58 percent of all cases, victims are men.

Target set by WHO to end the epidemic

• The WHO report outlines actions to scale up a public health approach to combating viral hepatitis, accelerating progress towards eliminating the epidemic by 2030.
• This includes increasing people's access to testing and diagnosis, strengthening primary care prevention efforts, and implementing policies for equitable treatment.

About Hepatitis

• Hepatitis means irritation or inflammation of liver cells due to any reason.
• This swelling appears with diseases like jaundice, fever, vomiting etc.
• The disease is caused by a group of viruses known as "hepatotropic" (liver directed) viruses, which include A, B, C, D, and E. Apart from this, other viruses can also cause this.

Efforts being made in India to deal with hepatitis

• National Viral Hepatitis Control Program
• India's Universal Immunization Program (UIP)

Important Facts For Exam

WHO 

• Established-7 August 1948
• Headquarters- Geneva (Switzerland)
• Director General – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
• Objective - To increase the level of health of the people of the world.
• Note: World Hepatitis Day: 28 July