Posted by The World Health Organization, or WHO, estimates that the hepatitis virus kills over 3,500 people worldwide each day, and the number is still rising.
In an effort to combat the second-largest infectious killer on a daily basis, WHO on Tuesday urged prompt action.
According to a WHO research released in conjunction with this week’s World Hepatitis Summit in Portugal, new data from 187 countries showed that the number of fatalities from viral hepatitis increased to 1.3 million in 2022 from 1.1 million in 2019.
Meg Doherty, who oversees the World Health Organization’s global programs for HIV, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections, said in a press conference that the state of affairs is concerning.
“3,500 deaths worldwide from hepatitis infections occur every day — 83 percent from hepatitis B and 17 percent from hepatitis C,” the paper stated.
It claimed that only 3% of people with chronic hepatitis B received antiviral therapy by the end of 2022, despite the fact that generic medications are both affordable and effective in treating these viruses.
The research explained that the results fall considerably short of the global targets to treat 80 percent of all individuals living with chronic hepatitis B and C by 2030. For hepatitis C, the report stated that 20 percent, or 12.5 million people, have been treated.
He clarified that there has been a modest decline in the overall rate of hepatitis infections.