Timeline A Hepatitis timeline

TIMELINE A

Post-war era welcomes new discoveries

The origin of the Hepatitis C virus has been traced back to World War Two, where the treatment of soldiers in chaotic locations such as field hospitals led to perfect conditions for the blood-borne virus to spread between soldiers as they received care.

An anti-cancer hepatitis vaccine

Dr. Baruch Blumberg won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the Hepatitis B virus. A few years later, in 1969, he and his team created the Hepatitis B vaccine, which is classed as the first anti-cancer vaccine as it helps to prevent liver cancer.

Target to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030

The WHO Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis created a plan to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030, with a 65% reduction in mortality by 2030 compared to 2015. One study suggested that up to 4.5mn deaths could be prevented by 2030 with vaccinations, tests and education campaigns.

It may surprise you to discover that hepatitis holds a higher death rate than HIV and malaria combined, killing two people every minute. The sickness causes damage to the liver and there are five different forms: Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. While there’s a vaccine and effective treatment for Hepatitis B, as well as a cure for Hepatitis C, research continues.

TIMELINE

Hepatitis in children rises

With the global healthcare sector focused on COVID-19, many healthcare initiatives have been forgotten or ignored. Babies are usually offered a hepatitis vaccine, but vaccine schedules have been delayed. Between April and May 2022, there have been 650 cases of acute Hepatitis in children, from more than 30 countries.

Hepatitis eradication

14 years previously, the WHO Global Health Sector Strategy (GHSS) vowed that it would eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health problem, by 2030. Preventative interventions include Hepatitis B vaccinations for babies, education on injection safety and widening treatment for patients. If successful, millions of lives will have been saved.