PAHO calls for expanded access to diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis

On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day on July 28, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is calling on countries to expand access to testing and treatment for the disease, which affects more than ten million people in the Americas, of whom only 23% have been diagnosed.

Of the five types of hepatitis, B and C are responsible for the most illness and death. An estimated 60,000 to 100,000 people die from these diseases each year in the United States. Most symptoms appear in the later stages of the disease, when severe liver disease or cancer has already developed.

“Hepatitis B and C are silent chronic infections that can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. The good news is that there are drugs that can cure hepatitis C, as well as effective treatments to control hepatitis B,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of PAHO. “It is crucial to strengthen our efforts and investments to end this public health problem,” he added.

According to a report by the World Health Organization, only 36% of people infected with hepatitis C worldwide are diagnosed and 20% receive curative treatment. As for chronic hepatitis B, only 13% of those infected are diagnosed and 2.6% receive life-saving medication.

Vaccination against hepatitis B, included in the vaccination schedules of all countries and territories in the region, helps to eliminate mother-to-child transmission during childbirth as a public health problem. This underlines the importance of continuous vaccination to prevent infection in new generations.

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‘It is time for action,’ says PAHO

Under the slogan “It’s time to act!”, PAHO is emphasizing on this World Day the urgency of accelerating measures to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. PAHO is working with countries in the region to design and implement national policies for the elimination of hepatitis, with strategies focused on primary care. It is also facilitating access to diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines at affordable prices through its Regional Revolving Funds.

The global reference price for curative treatment of hepatitis C is USD 60 per 12-week course, and for treatment of hepatitis B it is USD 2.4 per month.

World Hepatitis Day, celebrated on July 28, is an opportunity to intensify the global fight against these diseases, promote action and participation by individuals, partners and the public, and highlight the need for a stronger global response.

This day is commemorated on July 28 in honor of the birth of Dr. Baruch Blumberg, who received the Nobel Prize in 1976 for his discovery of the hepatitis B virus in 1967 and his contribution to the invention of a diagnostic test and associated vaccine.

Hepatitis B and C, along with mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B, are part of PAHO’s elimination initiative, which aims to eliminate more than 30 infectious diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030.