This virus has been found to be the 7th leading cause of death in the world above diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
According to a report published in The Lancet, hepatitis is causing more deaths and sufferings when compared to other diseases.
The researchers came to this conclusion after examining data from the Global Burden of Disease study. The researchers tracked how much illness and disability viral hepatitis caused from 1990 to 2013.
The researchers found that Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E were responsible for 1.45 million deaths in 2013. This is an increase from 890,000 deaths recorded in 1990.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date of the global burden of viral hepatitis. And it reveals startling findings – showing the death toll from this condition is now 1.45 million,” said senior author Dr Graham Cooke, a researcher at Imperial College London’s Department of Medicine.
“Whereas deaths from many infectious diseases – such as TB and malaria – have dropped since 1990, viral hepatitis deaths have risen.”
According to the report, nearly all deaths and disability came from Hepatitis B and C. They are both transmitted via exposure to contaminated blood and often lead to chronic liver problems.
S.O.Z