Listening to your body helps you keep a check on your health. Signs and symptoms are your body's way of signaling issues that need attention. It is important to act on these cues, so you can curb infections that may otherwise slip under the radar and cause trouble.
Viral Hepatitis is one such condition.
The Health Challenge at Hand
Hepatitis is caused by five known viruses - A, B, C, D and E (HAV, HBV, HCV, HDV and HEV) - and is generally transmitted through blood and bodily fluids. Often, however, the symptoms of hepatitis do not appear immediately, making it difficult for the infection to get noticed. Even so, the infection can cause serious health problems if left untreated.
This makes testing and diagnosis crucial. Accurate diagnostics that help in identifying infections early can pave the way for timely treatment.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 296 million people globally were living with a chronic hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection in 2019. And yet, despite being widespread, only 9% of the people affected by HBV get diagnosed. This has led to the disease becoming rampant. In order to reduce the burden of this disease, WHO has set a goal to diagnose 90% of people affected by HBV before 2030.
Hepatitis in India – A Challenging Situation
In India, too, hepatitis has been recognized as a significant health challenge. For instance, India has been classified as an intermediate zone for the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (a protein found on the surface of the HBV). There are approximately 40 million people affected by the HBV virus. Both HAV and HEV are important causes for severe cases of viral hepatitis and liver failure in India. HEV accounts for about 50% of the liver failure cases amongst adults, though children are affected more by HAV.
Many factors contribute to the high number of hepatitis cases in India. The worrying aspect is the increased risk of infections in children. Out of 26 million infants born each year, about 1 million run a lifetime risk of being affected by hepatitis.
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