The week will see the first U.N. World Hepatitis Day, called by the international body to raise awareness of the viral disease, largely spread by contaminated water and food, blood, semen and other body fluids. Around one third of the global population, or 2 billion people, have been infected with the liver disease hepatitis which kills about a million victims annually.

Of the five viruses named A through E, B was the most common and could be transmitted by mothers to infants at birth or in early childhood as well as through contaminated injections or injected drug use.

World Health Organization hepatitis specialist Steven Wiersma said this week:

"This is a chronic disease across the whole world, but unfortunately there is very little awareness, even among health policy-makers, of its extent."

Most of those carrying hepatitis do not know they have it, they can unknowingly transmit it to others and at any time in their lives it can develop to kill or disable them, the United Nations agency warned.

The E virus, transmitted through infected water or food, is a common cause of outbreaks of the disease in developing countries and is increasingly observed in developed economies. The World Health Organization says effective vaccines had been developed to combat the A and B viruses and could also be used against D. A vaccine for hepatitis E had been developed but was not widely available, while there was none for the C virus.

Hepatitis C is caused by the virus HCV. It is spread the same way as hepatitis B, through contact with an infected person's blood, semen, or body fluid. Like hepatitis B, hepatitis C causes swelling of the liver and can cause liver damage that can lead to cancer. Most people who have hepatitis C develop a chronic infection. This may lead to a scarring of the liver, called cirrhosis. Blood banks test all donated blood for hepatitis C, greatly reducing the risk for getting the virus from blood transfusions or blood products.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus, which is spread when the blood of an infected person enters the body of someone previously not infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said most people become infected by sharing needles or other equipment used to inject drugs, although the agency said people who receive body piercings or tattoos with nonsterile instruments are also at risk of becoming infected with hepatitis C. About 3.2 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C.

Vaccination campaigns had scored considerable success in many countries, with about 180 of the WHO's 193 member states now including the B vaccine in infant immunization programs.

There is a need to recognize hepatitis as a major global health problem in order to advance the cause of its prevention and control. Liver is a vital organ of the human body and plays a major role in detoxification, protein synthesis, production of biochemicals for digestion and metabolism. If the liver gets infected, it impacts the body metabolism rate greatly.

Source: The World Health Organization

Sy Kraft