World Hepatitis Day 2025: Experts Emphasize the Need to Address the Silent Spread of Hepatitis B

New Delhi: On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, observed every year on July 28, health experts highlighted the urgent need to strengthen hepatitis B screening and vaccination across India. With India accounting for nearly 12% of the global hepatitis B burden, experts stressed that timely detection and prevention are key to controlling the disease.

The theme for this year’s World Hepatitis Day was “Hepatitis: Let's Break It Down”, aimed at raising awareness and improving prevention efforts for hepatitis infections.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Hepatitis Report 2022, India reported 29.8 million hepatitis B cases, which is 11.7 per cent of the total global cases. Globally, 254 million people were living with hepatitis B as of 2022.

“Hepatitis B is a stealthy, silent virus. It only activates at a later age 40, 50, or 60 years and remains silent until one day you hear someone has liver cancer,” said Dr. (Prof.) S. K. Sarin, Senior Professor at the Department of Hepatology and Director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi, during an event in the national capital.

Dr. Sarin added that mother-to-baby transmission accounts for 95 per cent of hepatitis B cases, yet only 15 per cent of people know they are infected, and only 3 per cent of them receive treatment. “This condition is invisible. Of the 3 crore hepatitis B cases in India, we are only treating maybe a few lakhs,” he noted.

He called for increased family-based screening. “If somebody has hepatitis B, we need to screen the whole family. The risk of having a second family member test positive is five times higher. So, illness to wellness should start from those who are not unwell today but can become unwell. The family index person and all family members must be screened and vaccinated it will protect us,” he said.

Rajesh Bhushan, Former Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, highlighted the government's efforts to control hepatitis B. He noted that in 2007, the hepatitis B vaccine was added to the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). “The third dose coverage of hepatitis B now exceeds 93 per cent as per National Family Health Survey 5 and HMIS 2023-24,” he said.

Bhushan also mentioned the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme (NVHCP), launched in 2018 under the National Health Mission. The programme provides free testing and treatment for hepatitis B and C across all states and Union Territories, supported with funds from the central government.

The awareness event was organised by the Illness to Wellness Foundation and brought attention to the silent nature of hepatitis B, the importance of early detection, and the need for preventive measures at both individual and community levels.

(With inputs from IANS)