World Hepatitis Day: “Hepatitis affects everyone, everywhere. Know it. Confront it.”

In the WHO European Region, 14 million people are estimated to live with chronic hepatitis B, and about 9 million to be infected with hepatitis C. As such people may have no symptoms for a long time, most are unaware that they are infected. The epidemic therefore remains hidden and the public health response inadequate.

Major challenges in the Region include weak surveillance (so that the number people with different forms of chronic hepatitis is not known), the high cost of diagnosis and treatment, and limited access to prevention and treatment services in many countries, particularly in eastern Europe and central Asia.

In May 2010, the World Health Assembly recognized hepatitis as a global public health problem. Its spread can be prevented if countries adopt a range of measures promoted by WHO, including:

• universal newborn immunization against hepatitis B, in addition to vaccination against hepatitis A and B in particular high-risk groups;
• prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B;
• promotion of safer sexual behaviour to reduce the risk of infection;
• reduction of harm related to injecting drug use;
• provision of a safe blood supply; and
• prevention of transmission in health care settings.

WHO/Europe has spearheaded the response to hepatitis in three key ways: supporting immunization programmes, providing technical guidance and strengthening surveillance by arranging prevalence surveys.