WHO Hepatitis data in 2024 based on modelling, not actual surveillance: Govt

The data on hepatitis in the WHO Global Health Report 2024 is based on modelling and not actual surveillance, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.  Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel was responding to a question on whether India ranks second globally in Hepatitis B and C cases with 3.5 crore infections according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) report.
She said that the data presented in the WHO Global Heath Report 2024 is based on modelling and not actual surveillance.
In a written reply she stated that the 2023 Seroprevalence report under the National Program for Surveillance of Viral Hepatitis estimates the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C at 0.85 per cent and 0.29 per cent, respectively.  
Based on the data by the National Program for Surveillance of Viral Hepatitis the estimated number of persons likely to be infected with Hepatitis B and C in India is 1.38 crore, she said.  
On the government’s response and available health infrastructure for managing the disease burden, Patel said that health is a state subject.
However, the Centre has been implementing the National Viral Hepatitis Control Program (NVHCP) since 2018 under the National Health Mission (NHM) to provide diagnostic and treatment services for Hepatitis C, A, and E. The program was expanded in 2019 to include Hepatitis B diagnosis and management, she added.  
The minister further said that since Hepatitis B is primarily transmitted from an infected mother to her child, the program mandates screening of all pregnant women.
Newborns of Hepatitis B-positive mothers are administered Hepatitis B Immunoglobulin (HBIG) along with Hepatitis B vaccination under the Universal Immunisation Program (UIP) to prevent disease transmission, Patel said.  
The NVHCP also focuses on prevention through awareness campaigns and behaviour change initiatives, she added.  
Currently, 1,140 existing healthcare facilities (till December, 2024) across the country have been strengthened as treatment sites under the program, where all diagnostic and treatment services are provided free of cost, she said.