'Prevent hepatitis; Act now,' declares UN targeting hepatitis B and C

The theme for this year's Day Prevent Hepatitis: Act Now focuses on hepatitis B and C, which together cause approximately 80 per cent of all liver cancer deaths and kill close to 1.4 million people every year.

WHO has announced a new Global ýInjection Safety Initiative in three pilot countries -- Egypt, Uganda and India – to combat what the UN health agency calls the “silent epidemic.”

And this year, WHO's flagship event takes place in Egypt, a country that has one of the world's highest hepatitis burdens.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Yury Fedotov, said hepatitis is preventable and “some forms are curable.”

“Despite this truth, the disease continues to spread and is responsible for the deaths and suffering of millions around the world,” Fedotov said in a statement on the Day that some 6.3 million people, or every second person who injects drugs, are living with hepatitis C.

“On World Hepatitis Day, UNODC stresses that it will continue to work closely with its partners, including civil society, to do everything possible to prevent the spread of hepatitis C among people who use drugs and those living in prisons,” he said.

According to WHO, viral hepatitis – a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E – affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, causing acute and chronic liver disease and killing close to 1.5 million people every year, mostly from hepatitis B and C. These infections can be prevented, but most people don't know how.

Key messages of World Hepatitis Day 2015, include,

Prevent hepatitis – know the risks
Unsafe blood, unsafe injections, and sharing drug-injection equipment can all result in hepatitis infection.

Prevent hepatitis – demand safe injections
Two million people a year contract hepatitis from unsafe injections. Using sterile, single-use syringes can prevent these infections.

Prevent hepatitis – vaccinate children
Approximately 780 000 persons die each year from hepatitis B infection. A safe and effective vaccine can protect from hepatitis B infection for life.

Prevent hepatitis – get tested, seek treatment
Effective medicines exist to treat hepatitis B and cure hepatitis C.

The date of 28 July was chosen for World Hepatitis Day in honour of the birthday of Nobel Laureate Professor Baruch Samuel Blumberg, discoverer of the hepatitis B virus and developer of the first hepatitis B vaccine.

Photo: WHO/G. Hampton