WHO: hepatitis can be eradicated

Viral hepatitis, which annually takes the lives of about one and a half million people, can be eradicated, according to the World Health Organization. In a statement on the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, which is celebrated on July 28, WHO says that active testing, prevention and treatment are key to solving one of the most serious diseases.

Viral hepatitis is largely ignored. This seems odd, given that this dangerous alphabet - a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A, B, C, D and E kills almost as many people each year as HIV / AIDS. The most famous are hepatitis B and C, causing chronic cirrhosis and liver cancer, which often result in death.

Hepatitis B is transmitted from an infected mother to a newborn baby, as well as through contact with infected blood and sexually. Individuals who inject drugs through shared needles for syringes are at the greatest risk of becoming infected with hepatitis C.

Samuel Sow is a liver transplant surgeon at Stanford University. According to him, the best treatment for liver cancer is prevention, since there is no effective chemotherapy for treating this disease, and yet it is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer.

Despite this, says Sow, viral hepatitis can be defeated. This opinion is also shared by the ministers of health who participated in the work of the World Health Assembly this year. Sow calls on WHO Member States to step up efforts to eradicate these serious diseases.

“Even 30 years ago, a very effective vaccine appeared to reduce the severity of hepatitis B so that it does not turn into chronic hepatitis, which can result in cirrhosis and liver cancer,” he says. “In addition, there are very effective drugs for treating hepatitis B. It’s easy to take them — by a pill a day, and, like in the case of HIV, you can prevent the development of cirrhosis and liver cancer.”

According to WHO, more than half a billion people in the world live with chronic viral hepatitis. About two thirds of all deaths occur in Asia. The virus is also common in African countries.

Most people with hepatitis do not know that they are infected. Symptoms usually appear decades after infection. For this reason, WHO is calling on governments to allocate funds for prevention programs.

Nevertheless, the head of the WHO Global Hepatitis Program, Stefan Victor, says that there is reason for optimism because serious progress has been made in the development of new drugs.

“Most of the recent good news on hepatitis is related to the revolution in the treatment of hepatitis C,” he says. - We have several new drugs that are either already approved or will be approved soon. They revolutionize the treatment of hepatitis. Duration of treatment is reduced to 12 weeks, and in the future may be even shorter. No more injections. These medicines are safe and cure almost everyone - 90-95 percent. ”

The problem is money. Patients in the US will have to pay 84 thousands of dollars for an 12 weekly course of treatment. Dr. Victor agrees that such a price is too high for most people in the world, especially in developing countries, but he assumes that it will decline rapidly.

He noted that in June, Egypt reached an agreement with a vaccine manufacturer to purchase a medicine at a price of 900 dollars for an 12-week treatment course for one patient.

Lisa schline

"Voice of America"