Protect Your Liver: Get Tested and Vaccinate Against Hepatitis

Hepatitis is a potentially fatal disease that affects 1 in 12 people worldwide, often without obvious symptoms.  As one million people die each year from chronic hepatitis infection, viral hepatitis is among the top 10 infectious disease killers, according to the CDC.    

The World Hepatitis Alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO) recognize July 28, 2012 as World Hepatitis Day in honor of Dr. Baruch Blumberg who won the 1976 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of the hepatitis B virus.  Launched in 2008, World Hepatitis Day focuses on raising awareness of the different types of hepatitis, including their cause, treatment and prevention.

What is hepatitis?

Caused by a viral infection, hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver.  Scientists have identified five unique hepatitis viruses which are referred to by type - A, B, C, D, and E - each causing serious liver disease.  According to the World Health Organization, hepatitis types B and C “lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people [and] are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer.” 

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Hepatitis is Closer Than You Think: Are You No.12?