Each year, 28 July is observed as World Hepatitis Day. It provides a platform for advocacy, education and engagement with governments, health professionals and the public to drive awareness and action to eliminate viral hepatitis. It offers an opportunity to reflect on the ongoing fight against all types of hepatitis, and to encourage stronger commitment at local, national and international levels to combat the growing threat of the disease.
An estimated 304 million people worldwide live with hepatitis B or C. For most, testing and treatment remain beyond reach. Viral hepatitis is the second leading infectious cause of death globally, with 1.3 million deaths per year – the same as tuberculosis. Of these, 83% are caused by hepatitis B and 17% by hepatitis C.
In the WHO European Region, an estimated 10.6 million people are living with hepatitis B and 8.6 million with hepatitis C. These types of hepatitis account for an estimated 53 000 deaths.
While guidance and tools exist to diagnose, treat and prevent chronic viral hepatitis, services are often out of reach for communities and are sometimes only available at centralized or specialized hospitals.
The new WHO guidelines on hepatitis B prioritize simplified treatment criteria for adults and adolescents, and expanded eligibility for antiviral prophylaxis for pregnant women to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the hepatitis B virus.
The guidelines also focus on enhancing diagnostics through point-of-care viral load testing, addressing diagnosis of hepatitis D coinfection using testing protocols, and delivering high-quality services.
The theme of World Hepatitis Day 2024 is “It’s time for action”. As part of the activities, WHO/Europe will host a webinar on Thursday, 25 July focusing on the new recommendations for hepatitis B, including the broader eligibility for treatment and how countries are planning to implement these changes in their national programmes.
You can register via the link to join the webinar.
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