Marrapu S, Kumar R. Chronic hepatitis B: Prevent, diagnose, and treat before the point of no return. World J Hepatol 2024; 16(10): 1151-1157 [PMID: 39474571 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i10.1151]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ramesh Kumar, MBBS, MD, Additional Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Phulwari Sharif, Patna 801507, India. docrameshkr@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. Oct 27, 2024; 16(10): 1151-1157 Published online Oct 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i10.1151
Chronic hepatitis B: Prevent, diagnose, and treat before the point of no return
Sudheer Marrapu, Ramesh Kumar
Sudheer Marrapu, Ramesh Kumar, Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna 801507, India
Author contributions: Marrapu S designed and wrote the manuscript; Kumar R wrote the manuscript and provided critical inputs. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None of the authors have any conflict-of-interest related to this work.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ramesh Kumar, MBBS, MD, Additional Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Phulwari Sharif, Patna 801507, India. docrameshkr@gmail.com
Received: July 27, 2024 Revised: September 26, 2024 Accepted: October 10, 2024 Published online: October 27, 2024 Processing time: 85 Days and 15.5 Hours
Abstract
Hepatitis B remains a significant global health challenge, contributing to substantial morbidity and mortality. Approximately 254 million people worldwide live with Chronic hepatitis B (CHB), with the majority of cases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and the Western Pacific regions. Alarmingly, only about 13.4% of the individuals infected with this disease have been diagnosed, and awareness of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection status is as low as 1% in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2022, CHB led to 1.1 million deaths globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a target of eliminating hepatitis B as a public health concern by 2030; however, this goal appears increasingly unattainable due to multiple challenges. These challenges include low vaccination coverage; a large number of undiagnosed cases; a low proportion of patients eligible for treatment under current guidelines; limited access to healthcare; and the costs associated with lifelong treatment. Treatment of HBV can yield significant clinical benefits within a long window of opportunity. However, the benefits of therapy are markedly diminished when the disease is detected at the advanced cirrhosis stage. This editorial aim to highlight the current challenges in hepatitis care and the necessary steps to achieve the WHO's hepatitis elimination goals for 2030.
Core Tip: Hepatitis B remains a significant global health challenge. Despite ongoing efforts by the World Health Organization to eliminate hepatitis B as a public health concern by 2030, the situation on the ground is dire, with only about 13% of those infected diagnosed and merely 2.6% receiving treatment. In sub-Saharan Africa, awareness of hepatitis B virus infection is alarmingly low (1%), and many cases are identified only at the stage of cirrhosis, when the benefits of therapy are significantly reduced. This editorial aim to elucidate the challenges and explore potential strategies to improve the quality of care for such patients.
