World Hepatitis Day 2025: Renewed global push urgent need amid rising mortality: GlobalData

World Hepatitis Day, observed each year on July 28, highlights the urgent need to combat viral hepatitis—one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, impacting over 300 million people globally. Despite available vaccines and treatments, rising mortality and persistent systemic, financial, and social barriers underscore the critical importance of renewed global efforts toward hepatitis elimination by 2030, says GlobalData.

Stephanie Kurdach, Infectious Disease Analyst, GlobalData, comments, “The most common strains of viral hepatitis are A, B, C, D, and E. Hepatitis B is particularly worrisome, as it has the largest global burden and if it is left untreated, it can cause serious liver damage, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.”

GlobalData epidemiologists forecast the total prevalent cases of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the 7MM* to reach nearly 4 million in 2034, exhibiting a 0.04 per cent annual growth rate (AGR) from 2024-2034.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) global hepatitis strategy aims to end hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, by reducing new hepatitis infections by 90 per cent and deaths by 65 per cent between 2016 and 2030. Despite this strategy, the WHO reported that 1.3 million people died of CHB and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in 2022, up from 1.1 million in 2019.

Kurdach continues, “Viral hepatitis is easily preventable, diagnosable, and treatable. Unfortunately, several barriers to eliminating viral hepatitis exist. Most individuals living with viral hepatitis are unaware of their diagnosis. Additionally, certain populations, such as immigrant communities, homeless individuals, and racial and ethnic minorities, experience obstructions in accessing proper healthcare services. Furthermore, lack of awareness and stigma prevent individuals from accessing necessary hepatitis resources.”

The theme of World Hepatitis Day 2025 is “Let’s Break It Down.” This call to action refers to “breaking down” the financial, social, and systemic barriers that are preventing the elimination of viral hepatitis. Specifically, the goals for World Hepatitis Day 2025, according to the World Hepatitis Alliance include ending the stigma for people living with hepatitis, increasing awareness for individuals to access necessary hepatitis resources, advocating to provide resources to those most in need, and working together to achieve hepatitis elimination.

The key opinion leaders (KOLs) interviewed by GlobalData agree that there are numerous barriers in place that are preventing the elimination of viral hepatitis B. Specifically, KOLs consider the biggest unmet needs affecting CHB patients to be low diagnosis and treatment rates, inadequate access to vaccinations, screening, and treatment, and lack of curative therapies, although several of these are currently in development. One such product is GSK’s bepirovirsen, an antisense oligonucleotide injection in Phase III development globally, which could eventually be offered as a functional cure for CHB.

Kurdach concludes, “Although challenging, hepatitis elimination is very possible, especially with a collaborative approach and the removal of stigma and barriers.”

*7MM: The US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Japan.