The World Hepatitis is observed each year on 28 July to raise awareness of viral hepatitis, which causes inflammation of the liver that leads to severe disease and liver cancer.
It’s time to take action to realize a hepatitis‑free world.
Now is the time to prioritize testing, treatment and vaccination to realize a hepatitis-free world and meet our 2030 targets. Key actions include:
expanding access to testing and diagnostics to ensure more people can access the treatment they need;
strengthening primary care prevention efforts to prevent hepatitis through vaccination, safe infection and injections practices and education;
decentralizing hepatitis care to bring care closer to patients by utilizing community-based services;
integrating hepatitis care within existing health services, combining hepatitis treatment with primary care, HIV services, and harm reduction programs where relevant to offer more accessible and comprehensive care;
engaging affected communities and civil society, ensuring that the insights and experiences of people affected by viral hepatitis are at the heart of prevention and treatment efforts; and
mobilizing domestic or innovative financing to secure new funding avenues to support and sustain hepatitis elimination programs.
Find out more about how WHO is supporting countries to eliminate hepatitis.
So many hepatitis infections – and deaths – can be prevented.
To eliminate hepatitis and achieve the WHO’s ambitious targets by 2030, simplified care services for viral hepatitis should ensure that:
all pregnant women living with chronic hepatitis B have access to treatment and their infants have access to hepatitis B birth vaccines to prevent infection;
90% of people living with hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C are diagnosed; and
80% of diagnosed people are cured of hepatitis C or treated according to newer hepatitis B expanded eligibility criteria.
But while we have the guidance and tools to diagnose, treat, and prevent chronic viral hepatitis, these services are still too often out of reach of communities and are sometimes only available at centralized or specialized hospitals.
Rapid diagnostic tests for viral hepatitis cost less than US$ 2, but many people still face out of pocket costs for testing.
There is now the option for hepatitis C self-testing and a WHO prequalified test to encourage testing in the face of stigma and discrimination.
While a timely dose of the hepatitis B vaccine can prevent babies from developing liver cancer later in life, only 45% of babies received the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth in 2022.
Despite the availability of affordable generic viral hepatitis medicines, too many countries are still overpaying for them. For example, medicines used to treat hepatitis C (generic sofosbuvir and daclatasvir) costs US$ 60 for a 12-week course, but countries are paying anywhere between US$ 33to up to US$ 10 000.
Globally, there’s a huge number of undiagnosed and untreated people living with hepatitis.
Nearly 220 million with hepatitis B are undiagnosed, while nearly 36 million people with hepatitis C are undiagnosed.
Most symptoms only appear once the disease is advanced, with most people discovering they have hepatitis B or C only when they develop serious liver disease or cancer.
Even after diagnosis, the coverage of treatment and care for people living with hepatitis is astonishingly low.
Of the 304 million people with hepatitis B and C, only 7 million are treated for hepatitis B and 12.5 million cured of hepatitis C.
A liver performs over 500 vital functions every single day to keep us alive, that’s why testing, treating and preventing viral hepatitis is so important.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. It’s usually caused by a viral infection or non-infectious agents (such as drugs, toxins, alcohol).
There are 5 main strains of the hepatitis virus, referred to as types A, B, C, D, and E. While they all cause liver disease, they differ in important ways including modes of transmission, severity of illness, geographical distribution, and how they can be prevented.
Types B and C hepatitis lead to chronic disease and together are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis, loss of liver function, liver cancer and viral-hepatitis related deaths.
11:00 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. - Welcome remarks.
- Dr Monica Alonso, PAHO
- Dr Wendy Telgt Emanuelson, Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS - CARICOM
- Mrs Rachel Halford, World Hepatitis Alliance
Video Message: Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director PAHO
Progress in the elimination of hepatitis C in MEXICO.
11:25 a.m. - 11:40 a.m. - Progress in the elimination of hepatitis C in MEXICO.
- Dr Alethse de la Torre Rosas, National Center for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS (CENSIDA), Ministry of Health, Mexico
Experience of the Hepatitis Assessment Project to Amplify Testing (Project HEAT) in Uruguay.
11:40 a.m. - 11:55 a.m. - Experience of the Hepatitis Assessment Project to Amplify Testing (Project HEAT) in Uruguay.
- Dr John Ward, Coalition for the Global Elimination of Hepatitis (CGHE).
- Dr Victoria Mainardi, HIV/STI Program, Ministry of Health Uruguay.
WHO 2024 Guidelines for the Management of Hepatitis B PAHO: Expanding Access to Treatment and Care.
11:55 a.m. - 12:05 p.m. - WHO 2024 Guidelines for the Management of Hepatitis B PAHO: Expanding Access to Treatment and Care.
- Dr Leandro Sereno, PAHO.
12:05 p.m. - 12:15 p.m. - BRAZIL: National Response to Hepatitis B
- Dr Mario Peribañez Gonzalez, Coordinator of the National Hepatitis Program, (DATHI/SVSA), Ministry of Health, Brazil.
¡Es tiempo de actuar! -Día mundial contra la hepatitis 2024 - Webinario.
The World Hepatitis Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress towards eliminating viral hepatitis. In addition, allows the reflection on gaps and needs in the joint efforts towards the elimination of viral hepatitis in the Region of the Americas. A growing number of countries are adopting and implementing the Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis, setting national plans and targets. However, to achieve elimination goals, it is crucial to step up efforts and improve access to diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis B and C.
Hepatitis has established itself as one of the deadliest infectious diseases globally, underscoring the urgent need to take effective action to change the course of the global response towards the 2030 elimination commitment. Fortunately, eliminating viral hepatitis is an achievable goal, as we have effective tools for both the prevention and treatment of hepatitis B, and the cure for hepatitis C.
Our regional effort to eliminate viral hepatitis is strategically aligned with PAHO's Communicable Disease Elimination Initiative. This initiative represents a significant opportunity for governments, communities, and stakeholders to join forces and work together to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030.
The World Hepatitis Day also seeks to highlight the support of key stakeholders in this effort, as well as to share good practices and experiences from PAHO Member States.
Webinario: Día mundial contra la hepatitis 2024: ¡Es tiempo de actuar! (audio original)
Date and Time: 25 July 2024, 11:00 a.m. (EDT, Washington D.C.)
Hepatitis killing thousands daily, WHO warns in new report.
The number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis infections is increasing and already accounts for 3,500 deaths daily, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) released on Tuesday.
The disease is the second leading infectious cause of death globally, with 1.3 million deaths per year, the same as tuberculosis, another top infectious killer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2024 Global Hepatitis Report.
“This report paints a troubling picture,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Despite progress globally in preventing hepatitis infections, deaths are rising because far too few people with hepatitis are being diagnosed and treated.”
Swift course correction
Even though better tools for diagnosis and treatment are available and product prices are decreasing, testing and treatment coverage rates have stalled, the UN health agency stated in the report, released at the World Hepatitis Summit.
But, reaching the WHO elimination goal by 2030 should still be achievable, if swift action is taken now, the agency said.
“WHO is committed to supporting countries to use all the tools at their disposal – at access prices – to save lives and turn this trend around,” the UN health agency chief said.
The waiting area at a health clinic in Rwanda. Hepatitis B birth-dose immunization coverage is only 45 per cent globally, with less than 20 per cent coverage in the WHO African region.
Spike in deaths
More than 6,000 people are getting newly infected with viral hepatitis each day, according to the report. New data from 187 countries show that the estimated number of deaths from viral hepatitis increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022. Of these, 83 per cent were caused by hepatitis B and 17 per cent by hepatitis C. Updated WHO estimates indicate that 254 million people live with hepatitis B and 50 million with hepatitis C in 2022. Half the burden of chronic hepatitis B and C infections is among people 30 and 54 years old, with 12 per cent among children. Men account for 58 per cent of all cases.
Gaps in diagnosis and treatment
Across all regions, only 13 per cent of people living with chronic hepatitis B infection had been diagnosed and approximately three per cent, or seven million, had received antiviral therapy at the end of 2022, falling far below global targets to treat 80 per cent of people living with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C by 2030. The burden of viral hepatitis also varies regionally. The WHO African Region bears 63 per cent of new hepatitis B infections, yet despite this burden, only 18 per cent of newborns in the region receive the hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination. In the western Pacific region, which accounts for 47 per cent of hepatitis B deaths, treatment coverage stands at 23 per cent among people diagnosed, which is far too low to reduce mortality. In addition, despite the availability of affordable generic viral hepatitis medicines, many countries fail to procure them at these lower prices.
In Chile, new hepatitis treatments mean around 98 per cent of patients recover completely.
Eradicating the epidemic
The WHO report outlines a series of actions to advance a public health approach to viral hepatitis, designed to accelerate progress towards ending the epidemic by 2030. They include expanding access to testing and diagnostics, strengthening primary care prevention efforts and shifting from policies to implementation for equitable treatment. But funding remains a challenge, the agency said, with current levels insufficient to meet the needs. WHO said this arises from a combination of factors, including limited awareness of cost-saving interventions and tools and competing health priorities. The new report also highlights strategies for countries to address these inequities and access the tools at the most affordable prices available.
SDG 3: HEALTHIER GLOBAL POPULATION
Promote mental health and wellbeing and strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse
Reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from pollution, contamination and tobacco
Achieve universal health coverage and provide access to affordable, essential vaccines and medicines
Reduce global maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100,000 live births and under-five mortality to at least 25 per 1,000 live births
End epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and combat hepatitis and other communicable diseases
Sustainable development hinges on ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing at all ages.
The number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis infections is increasing and already accounts for 3,500 deaths daily, according to a report
Determining buffer conditions for downstream processing of VLP-based recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen using multimodal resins in bind-elute and flow-through purification modes.
The difficulties in purification of VLP-based recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (rHBsAg) are mainly emerged from inefficient semi-puri
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) accounts for around 80% of the global burden of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and finally 820,000 deaths annually. Purification of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) from the plasma of the virus carriers was the initial common source of HBV vaccines; however, the inadequate supply of human plasma plus increased risk of viral transmission were the main motives to the production of recombinant HBsAg. Like other virus-like particles (VLPs), rHBsAg has also the potential to be used as vaccine carrier and gene therapy vector.
In the production route of pharmaceutical recombinant proteins, complications of downstream processing (DSP) are yet responsible for the major part of the manufacturing processing cost. Such complications are exacerbated for VLP based proteins as the large size of the particles slows down and even prevents their diffusion through chromatographic resins pores and their access to the large internal surface areas. These issues afflict the resins performance in terms of binding capacity, VLPs recovery and purity
