DHAKA, July 28, 2024 (BSS) - Health experts at a workshop today said massive awareness campaign should be launched to educate the people on hepatitis virus for combating the growing threat of the disease. 

Most of people do not know about severe consequence of hepatitis virus, they told the workshop on "Creating awareness on Hepatitis" at the Jatiya Press Club in the city. 

The Jatiya Press Club (JPC) organized the workshop on the occasion of the World Hepatitis Day. 

JPC President Farida Yasmin, MP, General Secretary Shyamal Dutta and general secretary of Forum for the Study of the liver Dr Sheikh Fazle Akbar and physicians, among others, also addressed the workshop. 

 Division head of Interventional Hepatology Division of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Prof Dr Mamun Al Mahtab Swapnil presentenced the keynote paper at the workshop. 

Theme of this year's World Hepatitis Day is It's time for action". 
 
Each year, July 28 is observed as World Hepatitis Day. An estimated 304 million people worldwide live with hepatitis B or C. For most, testing and treatment remain beyond reach. Viral hepatitis is the second leading infectious cause of death globally, with 1.3 million deaths per year - the same as tuberculosis. Of these, 83% are caused by hepatitis B and 17% by hepatitis C.