World Hepatitis Day 2023:
World Hepatitis Day was recently observed on July 28
- World Hepatitis Day is observed each year on July 28 to raise awareness of viral hepatitis, which causes inflammation of the liver that leads to severe disease and liver cancer.
- It is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO).
- The theme for World Hepatitis Day 2023 is “We’re not waiting”. This theme highlights the need for urgent action to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030.
- July 28 is the birthday of Dr. Baruch Blumberg (1925–2011).
- Blumberg discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967, and 2 years later, he developed the first hepatitis B vaccine.
- These achievements culminated in Dr. Blumberg winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976.
Hepatitis:
- Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver.
- Inflammation is swelling that happens when tissues of the body are injured or infected.
- It can damage your liver.
- This swelling and damage can affect how well your liver functions.
- Hepatitis can be an acute (short-term) infection or a chronic (long-term) infection.
- There are different types of hepatitis, with different causes:
- Viral hepatitis is the most common type. It is caused by one of several viruses — hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E.
- Alcoholic hepatitis is caused by heavy alcohol use.
