Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 11
The Numbers at a Glance
Hepatitis remains a
major global health issue.
According to the World
Health Organization’s
Global Hepatitis Report
2026, an estimated 240
million people were living
with chronic hepatitis
B and 47 million people
were living with hepatitis
C globally in 2024. In the
same year, hepatitis B and
C caused an estimated 1.3
million deaths worldwide,
mainly from liver cirrhosis
and liver cancer.
The burden is particularly
signi昀椀cant across AsiaPaci昀椀c. WHO does
not provide one single
“Asia-Paci昀椀c” total, so
the regional picture is
best understood through
its Western Paci昀椀c and
South-East Asia regions.
In the WHO Western
Paci昀椀c Region, around
96.8 million people live
with chronic hepatitis B
and 7.1 million live with
chronic hepatitis C, with
an estimated 561,000
deaths due to hepatitis B
and C each year.
In the WHO South-East
Asia Region, WHO reports
an estimated 39 million
people living with chronic
hepatitis B, 10 million
living with hepatitis C, and
410,000 deaths due to
viral hepatitis each year.
In Australia, almost
300,000 people are
currently living with
hepatitis B or hepatitis
C, and nearly 1,000
Australians die each year
from these infections.
More speci昀椀cally, an
estimated 219,800 people
were living with chronic
hepatitis B in Australia in
2023, while an estimated
62,880 people were living
with hepatitis C at the end
of 2024.
These numbers tell an
important story. Hepatitis
is common, often
underdiagnosed and, in
many cases, preventable,
treatable or curable.
A Quiet Condition with
Serious Consequences
One of the challenges
with hepatitis is that
it does not always
announce itself loudly.
Some people experience
clear symptoms,
while others may feel
perfectly well, especially
in the early stages.
When symptoms
do appear, they can
include tiredness, fever,
nausea, loss of appetite,
abdominal pain, dark
urine, pale stools and
jaundice, which causes
yellowing of the skin
or eyes.
This quiet nature is part of
what makes hepatitis so
important to understand.
Hepatitis B and C, in
particular, can become
chronic and may lead to
long-term liver damage,
including cirrhosis, liver
failure and liver cancer. In
other words, someone can
be living with hepatitis
for years without realising
their liver is under strain.
