WHO’s 2024 Global Hepatitis Report

Context

India accounted for the second-highest number of cases of hepatitis B and C in 2022 after China, with 3.5 crore infections, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Key-highlights of the Report

Report: WHO’s 2024 Global Hepatitis Report
254 million people lived with hepatitis B and 50 million with hepatitis C in 2022 globally.
India, which was second only to China in the viral hepatitis burden, registered 2.98 crore hepatitis B cases in 2022 while the number of hepatitis C infections stood at 55 lakh.
China registered 8.3 crore cases of hepatitis B and C, representing 27.5 per cent of the total disease burden.
With a total of 3.5 crore cases, India accounted for 11.6 per cent of the total disease burden globally that year.

Fact Box: About Hepatitis

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can cause a range of health problems and can be fatal.
There are five 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 the illness, geographical distribution and prevention methods.
In particular, types B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people and together are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and viral hepatitis-related deaths.
Symptoms: Hepatitis symptoms include dark urine, yellowing of the eyes and skin, sickness, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, light-coloured stools and joint pain.
Treatment: There is no specific treatment for hepatitis but drugs like steroids can help, as well as medicines to treat the symptoms.