Cases of hepatitis B and C hit 325 million: WHO
 

GENEVA: An estimated 325 million people are living with hepatitis B or C and few are aware of their condition, with death tolls from the viruses rising, the UN said on Friday.

The World Health Organisation’s latest hepatitis report identifies the condition as a grave public health threat that needs an “urgent response”.

Hepatitis killed 1.34 million people in 2015, a toll roughly in-line with HIV and tuberculosis.

But in contrast to HIV and TB, hepatitis deaths are increasing, WHO said, recording a 22 percent mortality rise from 2000 to 2014.

Hepatitis is often symptom free, but types B and C can trigger liver cirrhosis and cancer if untreated.

Lack of awareness among those infected is driving the virus’s spread.

For hepatitis B -- which is spread through bodily fluids like blood and semen -- only nine percent of those infected k**w their status.

And for hepatitis C, primarily spread through blood, just 20 percent of those infected are aware of their condition.

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