World Hepatitis Day will be observed on Sunday across the world including Pakistan to raise awareness of hepatitis, its prevention and treatment.
World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners mark World Hepatitis Day to increase the awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis and the diseases that it causes.
Hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E can cause acute and chronic infection and inflammation of the liver that can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. These viruses constitute a major global health risk with around 240 million people being chronically infected with hepatitis B and around 150 million people chronically infected with hepatitis C.
For 2013, the overall theme continues to be ‘This is hepatitis. Know it. Confront it’. The campaign emphasises the fact that hepatitis remains largely unknown as a health threat in much of the world. Organisations such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Hepatitis Alliance work with individuals and community groups to promote awareness raising campaigns worldwide about hepatitis.
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver and can be caused by different things. One of the most common causes of chronic (long-term) hepatitis is viral infection.
According to the World Hepatitis Alliance, about 500 million people are currently infected with chronic hepatitis B or C and 1 in 3 people have been exposed to one or both viruses
