Guest post by Hilary Campbell, World Hepatitis Alliance
What is the 8th largest killer disease in the world? It is a disease that that currently affects more than 500 million people around the world. And is responsible for approximately 1.5 million deaths a year, the same death toll as HIV/AIDS and significantly more than TB or Malaria. Do you think you can name it?
Viral hepatitis is one of the most underestimated diseases on the planet. Although one in three people around the world have been in contact with a hepatitis virus, many people have no idea what it is.
Hepatitis simply means inflammation of the liver, which can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer or liver failure. One of the most common causes of long-term (chronic) hepatitis is infection by hepatitis B or C viruses. These are known as silent viruses, because you can be infected for years without knowing, making the virus hard to catch, and the damage harder to treat.
For a disease so prevalent with such a high mortality rate, the lack of awareness of viral hepatitis is baffling. The lack of awareness has led to very little support within countries, severely limited funding and transmission rates that keep increasing.
While global actors focus rigidly on HIV, malaria and TB, this communicable disease has inexplicably been left off the agenda. The knock on effect of this means that even in countries where viral hepatitis prevalence reaches 8-10% of the population, governments still choose to focus on diseases with a higher global priority. Because of this, access to screening and treatment for this silent epidemic then becomes near impossible.
The lack of priority also brings some strange unjust consequences. In parts of Africa where viral hepatitis prevalence is 8% of the population, the government still only funds treatment for HIV patients despite the fact that the same drugs can also be used to combat viral hepatitis. In extreme cases, we hear of people desperately trying to contract HIV simply to access the drugs to treat their viral hepatitis infection.
Despite these set-backs for global awareness, the 21st century is set to be an exciting time for the prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis. In recent years we have seen astonishing milestones for improvement:
- There is a vaccination for hepatitis A and B and in areas where these vaccines are administered consistently there are significant decreases in viral hepatitis rates
- Transfusion-transmitted viral infections are now far less common, due to improved screening of donors and better education about needle sharing [i]
- Antiviral therapy has progressed significantly, with an all-oral cure for hepatitis C on the horizon
If we want to see real global benefits from these milestones, more has to be done to challenge the current low priority of viral hepatitis on agendas. We must increase awareness of its prevalence, how it is transmitted and increase access to treatment, in order to cut transmission rates.
Viral hepatitis could be eradicated within our lifetime. However as the death toll looks set to overtake that of AIDS, it is time to ensure that hepatitis is given the same level of resources and attention. This World Hepatitis Day 2013, join us in increasing awareness of this killer disease and calling for its place on the global agenda.
Hilary Campbell is Communications Officer for the World Hepatitis Alliance, an international umbrella NGO. With over 160 member groups from around the world, the Alliance is a voice for the 500 million people worldwide living with viral hepatitis.
[i] Hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV transfusion-transmitted infections in the 21st century, Vox Sanguinis Volume 100, Issue 1, pages 92–98, January 2011
