Bangladesh among nations with highest burden of viral hepatitis B, C

Bangladesh, China, India and Pakistan are among the 10 countries, which collectively shoulder nearly two-thirds of the global burden of hepatitis B and C, says the World Health Organization's latest report on the viral infection.

The six other countries are Vietnam, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Russia, according to the report released at the Global Hepatitis Summit in Geneva on Tuesday.

The report has sounded an alarm on viral hepatitis infections, saying the number of lives lost due to the viral hepatitis is increasing.

Achieving universal access to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in the 10 countries by 2025, alongside intensified efforts in Africa, is essential to get the global response back on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, it says.

The disease is the second leading infectious cause of death globally -- with 1.3 million deaths per year, the same as tuberculosis, a top infectious killer, the said WHO report.

The report says new data from 187 countries show the estimated number of deaths from viral hepatitis increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022. Of these, 83 percent were caused by hepatitis B, and 17 percent by hepatitis C. Every day, 3,500 people are dying globally due to hepatitis B and C infections.

"This report paints a troubling picture: despite progress globally in preventing hepatitis infections, deaths are rising because far too few people with hepatitis are being diagnosed and treated," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

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 30–54 years old, with 12 percent among children under 18 years of age. Men account for 58 percent of all cases.

Although new incidence of the disease estimates indicates a slight decrease compared to 2019, the overall incidence of viral hepatitis remains high. In 2022, there were 2.2 million new infections, down from 2.5 million in 2019.

Across all regions, only 13 percent of people living with chronic hepatitis B infection had been diagnosed and approximately 3 percent (7 million) had received antiviral therapy at the end of 2022. Regarding hepatitis C, 36 percent had been diagnosed and 20 percent (12.5 million) had received curative treatment.

These results fall well below the global targets to treat 80 percent of people living with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C by 2030. However, they do indicate slight but consistent improvement in diagnosis and treatment coverage since the last reported estimates in 2019.

Funding for viral hepatitis both at a global level or within dedicated country health budgets, is not sufficient to meet the needs, says the WHO.