Viral hepatitis causes more than 1,000 deaths in 2024 in Brazil

“There is no reservoir of the hepatitis B virus other than the human being. So you can, through vaccination in 100%, eliminate the creation of new chronic carriers, and thereby have nowhere to be infected with Virus B. From the introduction of the vaccine in pediatrics, we are accumulating people vaccinated over time, and we have already walked there in Brazil, then we walk for a generation. Without hepatitis B viruses, which is a highly effective vaccine, “says Kfouri.

Effectiveness of the vaccine

Hepatitis A vaccine also demonstrated its effectiveness. In 2013, 903 children under 5 were infected with the virus in Brazil. From 2014, with the entry into the immunizer in the basic children’s calendar, there was a consistent reduction of new infections, and in 2024, only 16 cases were recorded in this public, a reduction of over 98%.

However, cases have been rising between 20 and 39 years, especially between men. After the Ministry of Health identifies outbreaks of the disease among the population of men who have sex with men, in May this year, vaccination was expanded to PREP users (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C, the most common type and with greater viral hepatitis lethality. In 2024, Brazil scored 19,343 new diagnoses of the disease and 752 direct deaths. But the infection can be confirmed by laboratory tests and treated with antivirals that has a cure rate of greater than 95%.

“When treatment can be started in a timely manner, the consequences are minimal. But when the infection remains for years without treatment, it can evolve to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, even those people who have no habit of consuming alcohol,” says infectologist Pedro Martins.