ABU DHABI, 24th July 2016 (WAM) --- To commemorate World Hepatitis Day this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling on decision-makers and people affected by the disease to work together to put hepatitis treatment within the reach of all people living with chronic hepatitis C.
The newly available treatment known as direct-acting antivirals is safe, easy to administer and can cure over 95 per cent of people with hepatitis C within 12?24 weeks. However, its price is high both for individuals to afford and for governments to make available, the health watchdog said in a press release posted on its website.
The WHO says every year in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, around 400,000 people are newly infected with hepatitis C virus. Over two thirds of those people will develop chronic hepatitis C, which is one of the main causes of liver cancer.
Currently, nearly 16 million people live with chronic hepatitis C in this region.
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