NEW DELHI: India is among the top ten countries that accounted for 69 per cent of global deaths due to hepatitis B (HBV) in 2024, according to a latest WHO report.
India is also among the top ten countries that contributed to 58 per cent of the global hepatitis C (HCV) deaths, the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Global hepatitis report 2026 said.
The report said that viral hepatitis B and C -- the two infections responsible for 95 per cent of hepatitis-related deaths worldwide -- claimed 1.34 million lives in 2024. At the same time, transmission continues, with more than 4,900 new infections each day and 1.8 million each year.
The global report said that the top ten countries that accounted for 69 per cent of global deaths due to HBV are Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa and Vietnam.
Hepatitis C-related deaths are more geographically dispersed.
In 2024, 10 countries, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, the US and Vietnam, accounted for 58 per cent of the global total infections due to HCV.
Globally in 2024, an estimated 240 million people were living with a chronic HBV infection, equivalent to 2.9 per cent of the global population. Of them, fewer than 5 per cent were on treatment, although an estimated 50 per cent are eligible under the 2024 WHO guidelines.
In 2024 globally, treatment coverage among the cumulative total of 68 million people with HCV infection eligible for treatment since 2015 was 20 per cent. In 2024, an estimated 11 million people had been diagnosed with it.
“Around the world, countries are showcasing that eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream, it's possible with sustained political commitment, backed by reliable domestic financing,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“At the same time, this report shows that progress is too slow and uneven. Many people remain undiagnosed and untreated due to stigma, weak health systems and inequitable access to care. While we have the tools to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat, urgent scale-up of prevention, diagnosis and treatment is needed if the world is to meet the 2030 targets.”
Hepatitis, a type of liver disease, can lead to serious liver damage and even liver cancer. One can also spread it to other people even if he/she is not sick. The two most common hepatitis viruses are HBV and HCV.
The WHO report noted that sustained, country-tailored efforts to expand testing, treatment, and prevention services, particularly in high-burden countries, will be essential to accelerate progress and advance towards the 2030 global HCV elimination target.
“There is an urgent need for intensified national, regional and global efforts to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of chronic HBV infection,” it added.
The report, however, noted significant gains since 2015.
The annual number of new hepatitis B infections has dropped by 32 per cent, and hepatitis C-related deaths have fallen by 12 per cent globally. Hepatitis B prevalence among children under five has also decreased to 0.6 per cent, with 85 countries achieving or surpassing the 2030 target of 0.1 per cent.
It said that to achieve the 2030 global targets of reducing both HBV- and HCV-related deaths by 65 per cent compared with 2015 levels, the coverage of treatment for people with HBV or HCV infection needs to be rapidly expanded.
The global report highlighted that there are highly effective tools to protect from the two viral infections.
Hepatitis B vaccine protects more than 95 per cent of vaccinated people against both acute and chronic infections; long-term antiviral treatment for hepatitis B can help effectively manage chronic infection and prevent severe liver disease; and hepatitis C short-course curative therapy lasting 8-12 weeks can cure more than 95 per cent of infections.
“The data shows that progress is possible, but also reveals where we are falling short. Every missed diagnosis and untreated infection due to chronic viral hepatitis represents a preventable death,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director, WHO Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections.
“Countries must move faster to integrate hepatitis services for people living with hepatitis B and C into primary care, and to reach the communities most affected,” Tereza added.
The report identifies priority actions to accelerate hepatitis elimination as a public health threat. These include scaling up treatment for chronic hepatitis B infection, particularly in the WHO African and Western Pacific regions, and expanding access to hepatitis C treatment in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.
It also calls for stronger political commitment and financing, improved coverage of hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination and expanded antiviral prophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HBV infection, particularly in the WHO African Region.
In addition, the report emphasises the need to improve injection safety in both health-care settings and community practices.
This story has been written by Kavita Bajeli-Datt of The New Indian Express.
