published Global Health OrganizationFriday, Statistics on the occasion of World Hepatitis Day.
Under the slogan “One Life, One Liver”, this year’s World Hepatitis Day highlights the importance of the liver for a healthy life, and the need to expand its prevention, testing and treatment to improve liver health, prevent diseases that can affect it, and achieve the goals of its elimination. 2030.
The organization said that in the Western Pacific region, there are about 116 million people infected with hepatitis B and 10 million infected with hepatitis C, and these are among the most common causes of cirrhosis, liver cancer and deaths related to hepatitis C in that region.
She added that there are 3 million new infections with hepatitis B and C each year in the same region, and most infections go undetected. Most of the symptoms appear once the disease progresses, making it a silent disease with serious consequences.
Despite the availability of effective and safe interventions for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of chronic hepatitis B and C, only 18% of people with hepatitis B in that region were diagnosed, and 5% received treatment. For hepatitis, 25% of patients were diagnosed and 10% received treatment.
The organization indicated that great progress has been made in that region to combat hepatitis B through national vaccination programs, as 90% of children received 3 doses of the hepatitis B vaccine in 2021, up from 49% in 2000.
Efforts to eradicate the disease in Egypt
Strenuous efforts are being made to eradicate the disease in Egypt, where it is available Free treatments, examination and follow-up services From the government in cooperation with the organization, knowing that it has one of the highest rates of inflammation in the world.
WHO’s global hepatitis C strategy, endorsed by all Member States, aims to reduce new infections by 90% and deaths by 65% between 2016 and 2030.
Between the 1950s and 1980s, unintentional transmission associated with unsafe injection practices occurred, and more than 6 million Egyptians contracted hepatitis C. Thanks to years of coordinated government action, the country is now on the path to eliminating the disease, and this is a remarkable turnaround.
From the early 1990s until now, the government has made great efforts to promote hepatitis prevention with programs covering blood safety, infection control and injection safety. It also worked to raise public awareness.
Egypt launched a network of specialized treatment centers in 2006, and with the discovery of new antiviral drugs in 2014, hepatitis testing and treatment became available and free for all.
2023-07-28 09:22:39
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