On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, the Association for the Care of Liver Patients in Dakahlia organized a celebration at the Egyptian Liver Hospital in Sherbeen under the title “Hepatitis Cannot Wait”, in which hundreds of people who recovered from hepatitis viruses from the elderly to even children participated, who were treated for free within the framework of the “Village” campaign.  Free from hepatitis viruses” started by the Liver Patients Care Association and the Egyptian Liver Hospital in 2015.

 

For his part, Prof. Dr. Gamal Shiha, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Liver Foundation, explained that World Hepatitis Day is an opportunity to strengthen international efforts to fight hepatitis and hepatitis viruses, encourage the participation of individuals, partners and the public and highlight the need to maximize the global response, stressing that the goal of the celebration on this day is a constant alert and reminder of the danger of hepatitis viruses and work to fight and eliminate them through awareness and treatment, given their wide spread in various countries of the world.

 

Dr. Jamal Shiha added that there are 5 types of viral hepatitis infections and they are “A, B, C, D, and E”, and chronic infections with hepatitis B and C cause more than 95% of deaths, while hepatitis A and E rarely causes life-threatening disorders.

 

World Hepatitis Day is an opportunity to strengthen national and international efforts to fight hepatitis and to encourage action and participation of individuals, partners and the public, in order to increase citizens' awareness and understanding of hepatitis and the diseases it causes, as well as to encourage and support prevention, diagnosis and treatment methods.  As well as highlighting the need to maximize the global response, as stated in the global report of the World Health Organization.

 

World Hepatitis Day coincides with July 28, the birthday of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Dr. Baroque Blomberg, who is credited with discovering the hepatitis B virus and developing a test to diagnose it and a vaccine against it.