Overview:
World Hepatitis Day is observed annually on July 28 to raise awareness of viral hepatitis and its complications, and to promote prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The date was chosen to commemorate the birth of Dr. Baruch Blumberg, a Nobel Prize laureate who discovered the hepatitis B virus and contributed to the development of a diagnostic test and vaccine against it.
Objectives:
- Raise awareness of viral hepatitis and ways to prevent it.
- Improve access to screening, early diagnosis, treatment, and appropriate care.
- Support efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health problem by 2030.
Facts:
- Chronic hepatitis B and C cause approximately 1.3 million deaths globally each year, equivalent to nearly 3,500 deaths every day.
- There are five main types of hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, and E. They differ in their modes of transmission, disease severity, and methods of prevention and treatment.
- Effective means of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are available. An effective vaccine is available for hepatitis B, while hepatitis C can be treated and cured in most cases with appropriate treatment.
Official Date:
Globally: July 28th, 2026.
Locally: Safar 14th, 1448H.
References:
World Health Organization – World Hepatitis Day 2026.
World Health Organization – Hepatitis.
World Health Organization – Global Data on Chronic Viral Hepatitis.