Hepatitis deaths to eclipse TB, HIV and malaria, WHO says
Hepatitis will kill more people than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined by 2040, the World Health Organization has warned.
Hepatitis, a disease that causes inflammation of the liver, will kill more people than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined by 2040, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
In its latest update, released as part of the World Hepatitis Day campaign, WHO sounded the alarm on current hepatitis infection trends, which show that the disease now kills about one million people worldwide each year.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says: “The disease can affect anyone, but it has a disproportionate impact on people and communities who are least served by health systems,” explains Africa CDC.
There are five types of hepatitis—A, B, C, D and E—which can either damage the liver or cause liver cancer. Of these, WHO says, hepatitis B and C cause the most illness and death.
“Millions of people around the world are living with undiagnosed and untreated hepatitis, even though we have better tools than ever to prevent, diagnose and treat it,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus. “WHO remains committed to helping countries scale up the use of these tools, including increasingly cost-effective curative medicines, to save lives and end hepatitis.”
An updated six-in-one vaccine, approved earlier this month by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and other health partners for routine childhood immunisation, can protect against hepatitis B.
WHO’s warning is a wake-up call for countries, especially those in sub-Sahara Africa like Kenya, to step up protection.
“To reduce new infections and deaths from hepatitis B and C, countries must: ensure access to treatment for all pregnant women living with hepatitis B; provide hepatitis B vaccines to their babies at birth; diagnose 90 per cent of people living with hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C; and provide treatment to 80 per cent of people diagnosed with hepatitis. They must also act to ensure optimal blood transfusion, safe injection and harm reduction,” WHO advised.
