28 July- World Hepatitis Day 2018: “Test. Treat. Hepatitis”

28th July is celebrated as World Hepatitis Day each year. This year, the theme is “Test. Treat. Hepatitis“.

Background Information:

Hepatitis attacks the most vulnerable. It can be prevented, diagnosed, treated and even cured.

Hepatitis B and C are chronic infections that may not show symptoms for a long period, sometimes years or decades.

Timely testing and treatment of viral hepatitis B and C can save lives.

Low coverage of testing and treatment is the most important gap to be addressed in order to achieve the global elimination goals by 2030.

Key Messages:

Viral hepatitis has become a major killer due to a lack of global attention, and causes debilitating diseases and also places a huge economic burden on families. Over the past 15 years, more and more people have been dying of viral hepatitis. Simultaneously, people are becoming newly infected with hepatitis.

Viral hepatitis B and C are major health challenges, affecting 325 million people globally. They are the root causes of liver cancer, leading to 1.34 million deaths every year.

More than 90% of Hepatitis B infections occur through mother -to- child transmission and during early childbirth.

High risk groups for Hepatitis B and C include:

injectable drug users
men who have sex with men
people who have had tattoos or acupuncture
partners of people living with Hepatitis B
health care workers

At least 60% of liver cancer cases are due to late testing and treatment of viral hepatitis B and C.

The objectives of the campaign are:

To support scale-up of hepatitis prevention, testing, treatment and care services, with specific focus on promoting WHO testing and treatment recommendations;
To showcase best practices and promote universal health coverage of hepatitis services; and
To improve partnerships and funding in the fight against viral hepatitis

You can help eliminate hepatitis.