According to the data, Maharashtra ranks third with 31,128 Hepatitis B cases registered between July 2018 and September 2023.
More than 4.5 lakh people in India were infected with Hepatitis B in the past five years, out of which nearly three lakhs were from 10 states.
Madhya Pradesh tops the list with 47,255 Hepatitis B cases followed by Rajasthan (39,059).
Health officials have cited several reasons for Maharashtra having the third highest Hepatitis B cases, includes more number of people being screened, late diagnosis, lack of awareness, etc.
An estimated 6-7% of the 11 crore population in Maharashtra is feared to be infected with Hepatitis B and 0.5%-1% with Hepatitis C.
A senior official from the state health department said that Hepatitis B and C are the two critical forms of viral hepatitis, causing inflammation, damage to the liver, and cancer at times.
Explaining further, officials stated that young adults are the highest consumers of street food, are socially and sexually active, and also are enthusiastic travellers, making them vulnerable to food-borne liver diseases like Hepatitis A and E, and sexually transmissible liver diseases like Hepatitis B and C. Adults with Hepatitis A and pregnant women with Hepatitis E are at higher risk of developing liver failure.
Around 4,800 ‘Master Trainers’ have been deployed around the country to provide training in diagnosis and treatment and monitoring for scaling up programme implementation.
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