New Delhi: Many people observed Wednesday (July 28) as the World Hepatitis Day (WHD) to raise global awareness about Hepatitis, in the memory of American Nobel Laureate Dr. Baruch Blumberg who had discovered the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and developed a vaccine and a diagnostic test to treat it.
Born on July 28, 1925, Dr. Baruch Samuel Blumberg, better known as Barry Blumberg, had been conferred with the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in 1976 for his pioneering work in this field.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can cause severe liver disease and Hepatocellular cancer. A group of infectious diseases, Hepatitis has variants A, B, C, D, and E.
Commonly found in Asia, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean, about 4 crore people died due to Hepatitis B in 2020. Nearly 60 lakhs were infected by Hepatitis C in India last year, media reports said.
Apart from vaccines and proper medication, precautions such as personal hygiene, purified water, and observance of general safety in poor sanitation areas can prevent infection.
The WHD’s theme for 2021, Hepatitis Can’t Wait, signifies the urgency to take action and eliminate the virus as a threat to public health by 2023.
A Hepatitis-related illness claims a life every 30 seconds. Therefore, more people succumb to Hepatitis than to Covid-19.
(Avya Mathur)
