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WORLD GASTROENTEROLOGY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2019
Editorial | Expert Point of View | WCOG 2019 | WDHD News | WGO & WGOF News | WGO Global Guidelines | Calendar of Events
World Hepatitis Day — 28 July 2019
— Find the Missing Millions
Cihan Yurdaydin, MD
President, WGO
Turkey
Naima Amrani, MD
President Elect, WGO
Morocco
Saeed Hamid, MD
Chair, WGO Hepatology Interest Group
Pakistan
World Hepatitis Day 2019 -
Eliminate Viral Hepatitis by 2030
“Hepatitis B and C is a major health
problem worldwide, especially in developing
countries. It is a major cause
of liver cancer which is the second
leading cause of cancer related mortality
in the world. Over half a million
new cases are diagnosed annually and
hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis
C virus (HCV) account for the majority
of liver cancer cases. Data from the
World Health Organization (WHO)
reveals that up to 325 million people
are living with chronic hepatitis B and
C infection.
Let us also not forget hepatitis E
virus infection which mostly causes a
self-limiting illness, however can lead
to liver failure in pregnant women and
patients with chronic liver disease, and
yet is a vaccine preventable illness.
As the World Gastroenterology
Organisation (WGO), we seek to raise
awareness of viral hepatitis with and
through our Member Societies, our
Regional Affiliate Associations and all
WGO Training Centers.
In 2018, WGO and WGO Foundation
(WGOF) dedicated the World
Digestive Health Day (WDHD) campaign,
to Hepatitis B and C with the
specific goal to ensure awareness of
prevention, diagnosis and availability
of treatment. Through our year-round
campaign, WGO and WGO Foundation
continued to provide a better
understanding and a better management
of this global burden.
Hand in hand we can be able to
prevent, cure and eradicate Hepatitis
B and C in the near future.
What is World Hepatitis Day?
World Hepatitis Day is an awareness
campaign organized by the World
Hepatitis Alliance. World Hepatitis
Day is celebrated every 28 July to
bring about the awareness of the
global burden of viral hepatitis, with
the primary campaign goal of eliminating
viral hepatitis by 2030.
The theme for this year is “Eliminate
Hepatitis” and the campaign for
2019 focuses on “Finding the Missing
Millions”, a three-year global awareness
raising and advocacy campaign
aimed at tackling the main barriers
to diagnosis by putting civil society
organizations and the affected community
at the heart of the solution.
All of which will contribute towards
progressing WHO’s elimination target
of a 30% diagnosis rate by 2020.
What is Viral Hepatitis?
“Acute viral hepatitis (AVH) is a systemic
infection predominantly affecting
the liver. It is most often caused
by viruses that are hepatotropic (hepatitis
A, B, C, D, and E). Other viral
infections may also occasionally affect
the liver, such as cytomegalovirus
(CMV), herpes simplex, coxsackievirus,
and adenovirus. Whereas hepatitis
A and E are self-limiting, infection
with hepatitis C and to a lesser extent
hepatitis B usually become chronic”
- Read more from the WGO Acute
Viral Hepatitis Guideline at http://
www.worldgastroenterology.org/
guidelines/global-guidelines/management
of-acute-viral-hepatitis.
Worldwide, 300 million people
are living with viral hepatitis unaware.
Without finding the undiagnosed
and linking them to care,
millions will continue to suffer, and
lives will be lost. On World Hepa