On Tuesday April 9, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its World Hepatitis Report 2024, in which it points out that the number of lives lost to viral hepatitis infections is on the rise, and currently stands at 3,500 deaths a day. According to the report, more than 6,000 people are infected with viral hepatitis every day. New data from 187 countries show that the estimated number of deaths from viral hepatitis has risen from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022. Of these deaths, 83% are due to hepatitis B and 17% to hepatitis C. The disease is the second leading infectious cause of death in the world, with 1.3 million deaths a year, as many as tuberculosis, another infectious killer, according to the UN agency. “This report paints a worrying picture”, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that “despite global progress in preventing hepatitis infections, the number of deaths is rising because too few people with hepatitis are diagnosed and treated”. Although better diagnostic and treatment tools are available and product prices are falling, test and treatment coverage rates have stagnated, says the United Nations health agency in the report, published on the occasion of the World Hepatitis Summit. According to updated WHO estimates, 254 million people will be living with hepatitis B and 50 million with hepatitis C by 2022. Half of the burden of chronic hepatitis B and C infections is borne by people aged 30 to 54, and 12% by children. Men account for 58% of all cases. “WHO is committed to helping countries use all the tools at their disposal – at affordable prices – to save lives and reverse the trend,” shared the WHO chief. The burden of viral hepatitis varies from region to region. The WHO African region accounts for 63% of new hepatitis B infections, but despite this burden, only 18% of newborns in the region receive the hepatitis B vaccine dose administered at birth, alerts the UN agency.
