(VOVworld) – Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases on Monday held a meeting to raise public awareness about Hepatitis in response to World Hepatitis Day, July 28^th.

Vietnam is among the countries with the highest rate of hepatitis infection. According to epidemiology statistics, 10 to 25 percent of Vietnam’s population is affected with hepatitis B, while 0.4 to 4.1 percent has hepatitis C. The World Health Organization said they would continue to work closely with the Ministry of Health, the city’s Department of Health and major hospitals to increase technical assistance to deal with hepatitis. Doctor Le Manh Hung is the Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh city Hospital for Tropical Diseases: "It’s difficult to detect hepatitis because viral hepatitis shows no external symptoms. Around 75 to 80 percent of infected people look normal. It’s better if the disease is detected early, otherwise, the liver will be seriously affected, and this can lead to dangerous complications". 

According to the World Health Organization, 1.5 million people die of hepatitis every year. At the World Health Assembly in May, 194 member countries approved a resolution to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the viral hepatitis.