Daijiworld Media Network - Islamabad

Islamabad, May 2: Pakistan has emerged as the largest contributor worldwide to the number of people living with hepatitis C, according to the World Health Organization Global Hepatitis Report 2026, raising serious concerns over infection control and medical safety standards.

The report also places Pakistan among the top 10 countries globally with the highest hepatitis C-related deaths, highlighting persistent risks linked to unsafe medical practices, including the reuse of syringes and weak infection prevention systems.

According to the findings, hepatitis B and C remain among the deadliest infectious diseases globally, despite being preventable and, in the case of hepatitis C, curable. In 2024 alone, an estimated 287 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B or C worldwide, including 240 million with hepatitis B and 47 million with hepatitis C.

The report also recorded around 1.34 million deaths linked to viral hepatitis in 2024, with 1.1 million caused by hepatitis B and 240,000 by hepatitis C. Most fatalities were attributed to complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The WHO noted that Pakistan “stands out clearly” as the single largest contributor to the global hepatitis C burden, linking the spread to unsafe injections, limited screening, and gaps in treatment access.

Health concerns in the country have been further aggravated by reports of banned reusable syringes and counterfeit auto-disable syringes circulating in local markets. These unsafe medical tools, when used repeatedly or by unqualified practitioners, significantly increase the risk of transmission of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.

Public health experts have warned that widespread injection overuse, informal healthcare providers, and poor infection control practices continue to fuel the epidemic, calling it a serious warning sign for the country’s healthcare system.