India, April 9 -- According to the World Health Organization (WHO)2024 Global Hepatitis Report, the number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis is increasing. The disease is the second leading infectious cause of death globally, with 1.3 million deaths per year, the same as tuberculosis, a top infectious killer.

The report, released at the World Hepatitis Summit, highlights that despite better tools for diagnosis and treatment, and decreasing product prices, testing and treatment coverage rates have stalled.

New data from 187countries show that the estimated number of deaths from viral hepatitis increased from 1.1million in 2019 to 1.3million in 2022. Of these, 83% were caused by hepatitisB, and 17% by hepatitisC. Every day, there are 3...