Viral hepatitis result in a potentially life-threatening inflammation of the liver, which is characterized by complications of liver disease. Specifically, hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses alone cause chronic viral hepatitis which is a major global health problem responsible for 57_per cent of liver cirrhosis and 75_per cent of primary liver cancer cases, respectively.
A 2013 WHO report indicates that more than 240 and 150 million populations were affected by chronic liver disease due to HBV and HCV respectively. Africa has been the second largest number of chronic HBV reports next to Asia. A recent report still estimates that about 2.2 billion people globally have evidence of past or present infection with the viruses. And about 500 million of these are chronically infected- a figure more than ten times those affected by HIV and AIDS.
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