According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2024 Global Hepatitis Report, the number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis is increasing.  More than 3,500 people die from hepatitis viruses every day and the global toll is rising, the World Health Organization has warned, calling for swift action to fight the second-largest infectious killer.

The disease is the second leading infectious cause of death globally with 1.3 million deaths per year, which is same as tuberculosis.  New data from 187 countries showed that the number of deaths from viral hepatitis rose to 1.3 million in 2022 from 1.1 million in 2019. The report said that there are 3,500 deaths per day worldwide from hepatitis infections including 83 percent from hepatitis B, 17 percent from hepatitis C.

There are effective and cheap generic drugs which can treat these viruses. Yet only three percent of those with chronic hep B received antiviral treatment by the end of 2022, the report said.

According to the report, Two thirds of all hepatitis cases are in Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia and Vietnam.