Hepatitis B and C claimed 1.3 million lives in 2024, WHO reports
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a new report on hepatitis today, marking the World Hepatitis Summit. Since 2015, the annual number of new hepatitis B infections has dropped by 32%, and hepatitis C-related deaths have fallen by 12% around the world.
But despite progress, the virus still causes significant mobility and mortality, with more than 4,900 new infections caused by hepatitis B and C every day, or 1.8 million each year. In 2024, WHO estimates 287 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B or C infection. Notably, of the 240 million people living with chronic hepatitis B in 2024, fewer than 5% were receiving treatment.
Around the world, countries are showing that eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream.
"Around the world, countries are showing that eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream, it's possible with sustained political commitment, backed by reliable domestic financing," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, WHO Director-General, in a statement. "At the same time, this report shows that progress is too slow and uneven. Many people remain undiagnosed and untreated due to stigma, weak health systems and inequitable access to care."
An estimated 1.1 million people died from hepatitis B and 240,000 from hepatitis C in 2024, as the viruses cause liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Just 10 countries, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa and Vietnam, accounted for 69% of the hepatitis B-related deaths.
A birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine prevents 95% of acute and chronic infections. Birth-dose vaccination is lacking in the WHO African Region , where 68% of new hepatitis B infections are diagnosed annually, but only 17% of newborns are vaccinated.
Overall, hepatitis B prevalence among children under age 5 has also decreased to 0.6%, with 85 countries achieving or surpassing the 2030 target of 0.1%, the WHO said.
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