The World Health Organization (WHO) will mark July 28, 2011, as the first World Hepatitis Day, conveying a warning that more than 5 million people in the Southeast Asia will be killed by viral hepatitis in the next 10 years. The world day is aiming to raise awareness of the public health impact of the hepatitis diseases.
According to data from WHO, about 60 percent of infected individuals remain unaware that they are infected, until they show symptoms of cirrhosis or a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma, which may take over 20 years to develop.
Viral hepatitis strikes people in their most productive years. It has already killed more people than malaria, dengue, and HIV/AIDS combined in the region in the last decade. Chronic hepatitis B and C virus infections are among the leading causes of preventable deaths in the region, according to the WHO South East Asia Regional Office.