Hepatitis.. Why is it a deadly disease and how can you protect yourself?

Hepatitis causes more than one million deaths annually around the world, and this number has been increasing in recent years.

Hepatitis usually occurs as a result of a viral infection, and may lead to liver cancer and liver failure, in addition to many other liver diseases.

There are five strains of the virus, ranging from A to E.

Hepatitis B and C are the most harmful, with the World Health Organization estimating that 1.3 million people die annually around the world from diseases caused by these two strains, meaning one person dies every 30 seconds.

How common is it?

The World Health Organization estimates that 254 million people have chronic hepatitis B and 50 million people have chronic hepatitis C, and says there are more than 2 million new cases discovered each year.

Hepatitis B affects:

-97 million people in the WHO Western Pacific region (which includes China, Japan and Australia).

- 65 million people in Africa.

- 61 million people in the WHO Southeast Asia region (which includes India, Thailand and Indonesia).

The World Health Organization says hepatitis E infects 20 million people worldwide each year and caused 44,000 deaths in 2015, and is most common in South and East Asia.

How do you get hepatitis?

Hepatitis A infection is most often transmitted through eating food, drinks, or water contaminated with feces, or through direct contact with an infected person.

This type is common in low- and middle-income countries with poor health conditions. Its symptoms quickly disappear, and almost everyone recovers from it. However, it can cause liver failure, which can be fatal.

What are the tests and treatments for hepatitis?

Blood tests to check for hepatitis A, B and C can be done by your family doctor or sexual health clinic.

There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A, however, most people infected with the disease recover quickly and develop immunity to it.

Chronic hepatitis B and C can be treated with antiviral medications, which slow the progression of cirrhosis and reduce the chances of developing liver cancer.

There are vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and B, and the hepatitis B vaccine given to children at birth can prevent transmission of the disease from their mothers, and can also protect against hepatitis D.

There is no vaccine for hepatitis C, while a vaccine for hepatitis E is not widely available at this time.

How do I avoid getting hepatitis?

According to the World Health Organization, hepatitis A can be avoided by:

• Wash hands regularly before eating and after going to the toilet.
• Providing usable drinking water.
• Proper disposal of wastewater.

The World Health Organization says that hepatitis B, C and D can best be avoided by:

• Practice safe sex, use condoms, and limit the number of sexual partners.
• Do not share needles for drug injections, body piercings, or tattoos.
• For hepatitis B, wash hands after contact with blood, body fluids, or contaminated surfaces.
• For hepatitis B, get a vaccine if you're an adult and a health care worker, because the vaccine given at birth may only last about 20 years.

Hepatitis E can be avoided by practicing personal hygiene and also by thoroughly cooking animal livers before eating, especially pork liver.

How are health authorities trying to eliminate hepatitis?

The World Health Organization aims to reduce the number of people infected with hepatitis B and C by 90 percent by 2030, and reduce the number of deaths resulting from them by 65 percent.

However, it says deaths from hepatitis viruses are on the rise, and its latest data suggests they have risen from 1.1 million cases globally in 2019 to 1.3 million cases in 2022.

She explained that hundreds of millions of people still find it difficult to get tested for hepatitis because only about 60 percent of countries around the world provide free testing and treatment, noting that only a third of countries in Africa provide these services.

(BBC)