Third of world's people infected with hepatitis-WHO

A laboratory assistant examines a blood sample inside a laboratory in the northeastern Indian city of Siliguri, November 2, 2006. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

Source: Reuters // Reuters

* Killing around a million people annually

* "Staggering health toll" not widely recognised

GENEVA, July 26 (Reuters) - Around one third of the global population, or 2 billion people, have been infected with the liver disease hepatitis which kills about a million victims annually, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

And although most of those carrying hepatitis do not know they have it, they can unknowingly transmit it to others and at any time in their lives it can develop to kill or disable them, the United Nations agency warned/.../