Hanoi (VNA) – Hepatitis B and C viruses, the silent killers that causemillions of deaths worldwide a year, are estimated to affect over 8.7 millionVietnamese people in 2017, as heard a conference jointly held by the Ministryof Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Hanoi on July 21.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that hepatitis B and C are public health issues, referring to vulnerable groups of samesex practices and injection drug users.
He underlined that the two forms of hepatitis put a heavy burden on the countryas the viruses steal thousands of lives every year. He also called theparticipants to evaluate the viral hepatitis situation in Vietnam and discusseffective measures to prevent the diseases.
Representatives from the WHO and a research group estimated that among 7.8million people living with hepatitis B, 51,000 get cirrhosis, 14,000 develop livercancer and 32,000 die of liver diseases.
Policies scenarios have been studied to enhance viral hepatitis diagnose andtreatment, helping reduce infected cases. The health sector will make investmentin preventive intervention, testing and treatment to save more lives.
Up to 325 million people or 4 percent of the world’s population areliving with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Millions are at risk of slowprogression to cirrhosis and cancer and the viral hepatitis causes 1.34 milliondeaths every year, a number comparable to deaths caused by tuberculosis and malaria.-VNA