WHO July 2016

Do you know if you could be infected with hepatitis B or C? What that could mean for your health?

Figure: A man places covers on bike seats to raise awareness of hepatitis in the Netherlands (WHO)

A staggering 95% of people infected with hepatitis B or C around the world do not know they are infected. One reason for this is that people can live without symptoms for many years. When they find out they have hepatitis, it is often too late for treatment to be fully effective. As a result, liver damage becomes cirrhosis or liver cancer.

To help countries build up national hepatitis testing and treatment programmes and to encourage more people globally to get tested, WHO will shortly release new testing guidelines for hepatitis B and C.

To show how the testing guidelines could translate into real action on the ground, WHO and its partner, Social Entrepreneurship for Sexual Health (SeSH) recently launched a contest to find real-world examples of innovative ways to reach different populations across various countries and settings and test for hepatitis.

The #HepTestContest Innovation Contest received 64 contributions from 27 countries. The project selected around 20 of the best approaches to testing for hepatitis, and then whittled down the list to 5 finalists.

See more: http://www.who.int/features/2016/access-hepatitis-testing/en/