世界卫生组织呼吁各国加紧行动遏制病毒性肝炎死亡

世界卫生组织在2016年世界肝炎日前夕发出呼吁，要求各国采取措施应对病毒性肝炎威胁。1 全球约4亿人感染乙肝和丙肝，这一数字是艾滋病感染者的10倍多，但仅有二十分之一的患者知晓自己患病，接受治疗的患者比例更低，仅占1%。1 病毒性肝炎已成为严重公共卫生问题，2013年估计有145万人因此丧生，相比1990年不足100万的死亡数显著增加。1

为应对这一挑战，194个国家政府于2016年5月通过了首份《全球卫生部门病毒性肝炎战略》。1 该战略设定了明确的治疗目标：到2020年治疗800万乙肝或丙肝患者；到2030年实现新增感染减少90%、死亡数减少65%的长期目标。1 随着新型直接作用抗病毒药物的发展，丙肝患者可在2至3个月内获得90%以上的治愈率，这为大规模治疗提供了可能。1 药物成本也在大幅下降，埃及的丙肝治疗费用从2014年的每人900美元降至2016年的200美元以下。1 截至2015年初，中低收入国家已有30万名患者接受了新型丙肝治疗。1 同时，乙肝疫苗接种工作已被纳入全球防控体系，到2014年已有184个国家将乙肝疫苗列入儿童接种计划，儿童接种率达到82%。1

The World Health Organization has called on countries to intensify efforts to combat viral hepatitis ahead of World Hepatitis Day 2016. Approximately 400 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B and C, more than ten times the number of people living with HIV 1. Despite the scale of the epidemic, awareness and treatment rates remain critically low: only one in twenty infected individuals know their status, and merely 1 percent are receiving treatment 1.

Mortality from hepatitis has risen significantly over recent decades. An estimated 1.45 million deaths occurred in 2013, compared to fewer than one million in 1990 1. In response to this growing burden, 194 countries adopted the first-ever Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis in May 2016 1. The strategy sets concrete targets: treating 8 million hepatitis B and C patients by 2020, and reducing new infections by 90 percent and deaths by 65 percent by 2030 1.

Treatment options are becoming increasingly effective and affordable. Direct-acting antivirals can cure more than 90 percent of hepatitis C patients within two to three months 1. Costs have declined sharply, illustrated by Egypt's experience where hepatitis C treatment fell from 900 dollars per person in 2014 to under 200 dollars by 2016 1. As of early 2015, approximately 300,000 patients in low- and middle-income countries had already accessed these new hepatitis C therapies 1. On prevention, 184 countries had incorporated hepatitis B vaccination into routine childhood immunization programs as of 2014, achieving an 82 percent vaccination rate among children 1.