The purpose of holding this day is to inform and educate citizens and relevant institutions about viral hepatitis, their prevention and treatment.
Although there are many different types of hepatitis viruses (A to E), hepatitis B and C are the most serious because they can cause chronic hepatitis with an increased risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. million deaths per year. A special feature of chronic hepatitis is that it is asymptomatic, as a result, most infected people are unaware of it.
About 200,000 people in Greece are estimated to be chronic carriers of Hepatitis B and 70,000 people of Hepatitis C.
The strategic goal of the World Health Organization is to eliminate viral hepatitis B and C by 2030.
Hepatitis: Vaccine and antiviral drugs
In recent years, important steps have been taken in the direction of prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis in our country. Hepatitis B vaccine is included in the National Immunization Program and is the only effective way to prevent the disease and its complications. In addition, the use of combined antiviral drugs has greatly contributed to the treatment of viral hepatitis B.
Hepatitis C is now curable, as a new generation of drugs has revolutionized the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C.
New drugs are administered in the form of tablets, have a strong antiviral effect and increase the response rate to treatment, while reducing the duration of its administration.
In our country, all patients have the opportunity to use new treatment regimens, which lead to complete clearance of the virus and cure of the infection, free of charge. To date, according to EOPYY, about 15,000 people have been treated with new generation drugs.
For 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Hepatitis Alliance are calling on people to raise awareness about hepatitis under the slogan “Time to act: Screening – Treatment – Vaccination”.