The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a stark warning on Tuesday, revealing that more than 3,500 people succumb to hepatitis viruses daily, with the global death toll on the rise. According to a WHO report released to coincide with the World Hepatitis Summit in Portugal, the number of deaths from viral hepatitis surged to 1.3 million in 2022 from 1.1 million in 2019, indicating troubling trends.
Meg Doherty, head of the WHO’s global HIV, hepatitis, and sexually-transmitted infection programs, described these findings as “alarming trends” during a press conference. The report highlighted that worldwide, there are 3,500 deaths each day from hepatitis infections, with 83 percent attributed to hepatitis B and 17 percent to hepatitis C.
Despite the availability of effective and affordable generic drugs for treating these viruses, the report revealed that only a small fraction of individuals with chronic hepatitis B and C received antiviral treatment by the end of 2022. Specifically, just three percent of those with chronic hepatitis B and 20 percent of those with hepatitis C had been treated, falling well below the global targets set to treat 80 percent of all individuals living with these conditions by 2030.
While there was a slight decrease in the overall rate of hepatitis infections, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that the report portrays a troubling picture. He highlighted that despite progress in preventing hepatitis infections globally, deaths are rising due to insufficient diagnosis and treatment.
The report also shed light on the disproportionate burden of hepatitis infections in Africa, accounting for 63 percent of new hepatitis B infections. However, less than one in five babies in Africa receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
Moreover, the report lamented the lack of access to generic hepatitis drugs in affected countries, with many paying more than they should. Two-thirds of all hepatitis cases are concentrated in ten countries, including Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, and Vietnam.
The WHO emphasized the urgency of achieving universal access to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in these countries by 2025, along with intensified efforts in the African region, to steer the global response back on track. Viral hepatitis stands as the second-leading infectious killer globally, trailing closely behind tuberculosis.
