Egyptian Liver Foundation celebrates #WorldHepatitisDay

On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, on July 28 each year, the Egyptian Liver Foundation and the Association of Liver Patients’Care in Dakahlia organized, at the Egyptian Liver Hospital, a big celebration whose slogan was "Find millions of undiagnosed people", which was attended by hundreds of patients, elderly and children, cured of viral hepatitis, who were treated free of charge within the framework of the Project: "Village free of viral hepatitis ", on which the Egyptian Liver Foundation has been working for years.

The children wore printed t-shirts with the slogan of the Egyptian Liver Foundation 2019: "Find millions of undiagnosed people", a slogan adopted as part of the "Investing in the elimination of hepatitis" campaign of the World Health Organization (WHO) to screen millions of people with viral hepatitis.

"World Hepatitis Day is an opportunity to strengthen international efforts to combat viral hepatitis, to encourage the participation of individuals, partners and the public, and to highlight the need to maximize the global response to hepatitis”, said Professor Gamal Shiha, Chairman of the board of directors of the Egyptian Liver Foundation.

Dr. Gamal Shiha, Chairman of the board of directors of the Egyptian Liver Foundation مؤسسة الكبد المصري , explained that the purpose of the Day was to raise awareness of the dangers of hepatitis viruses, to combat and eliminate them through sensitization and treatment, given the high prevalence rate in different countries of the world.

He added that there were five types of viral hepatitis "A, B, C, D, E" and that hepatitis B and C caused chronic liver infections and inflammation in more than 95% of deaths, and that Hepatitis A and E rarely caused life-threatening medical conditions.

The date of July 28 was chosen for World Hepatitis Day because it is the birth date of Professor Baruch Samuel Blumberg, Nobel Prize winner and discoverer of the hepatitis B virus.

World Hepatitis Day is an opportunity to strengthen international efforts to fight viral hepatitis, to encourage the participation of individuals, partners and the public, to raise citizens' awareness of the issues of viral hepatitis and the diseases it causes to better understand them, to strengthen prevention, screening and treatment, and to highlight the need to maximize the global response to hepatitis, as outlined in the global report of the World Health Organization (WHO).