Viral hepatitis is the world’s biggest cause of death and disability, surpassing Aids and TB toll
Viral hepatitis has become a leading cause of death and disability in the world, killing more people in a year than Aids, tuberculosis or malaria, a report said Thursday.
Deaths from infection, liver disease and cancer caused by viral hepatitis increased by 63 per cent from 890,000 in 1990 to 1.45 million in 2013, according to a review of data collected in 183 countries.
By comparison, in 2013 there were 1.3 million deaths from Aids, 1.4 million from tuberculosis, and 855,000 from malaria, said the report, published in The Lancet.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, most often caused by a virus but sometimes by drug or alcohol abuse, other infections, or autoimmune diseases.
There are five main types, known as A, B, C, D and E.
According to the World Health Organisation, types A and E are typically transmitted via contaminated food or water, while B, C and D usually occur from contact with body fluids of an infected person.
An estimated 95 per cent of people are unaware of their infection, though treating hepatitis B and C can prevent the development of chronic liver disease.
“We have tools at our disposal to treat this disease - we have vaccines to hepatitis A and B and we have new treatments to C,” for which there is no vaccine, said Cooke.
“However the price of new medicines is beyond the reach of any country - rich or poor.”
The review concluded with a call for a change in funding structures to “allow effective responses in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.”