Chronic Liver disease – a public health priority
One of the largest organs in the body, the liver performs over 500 functions from fighting infections, blood clotting, production of hormones and proteins and others. Several conditions can affect its normal functioning and if left undiagnosed and untreated, can lead to liver failure. Liver disease constitutes a group of conditions that can be caused due to infections, inherited, obesity or alcohol abuse. Liver cirrhosis is a commonly used term that refers to the scarring of the liver over a course of time. As more scarred tissue replaces healthy tissue, it impacts the normal functioning of the liver leading to liver failure and liver cancer. Global prevalence of liver disease Liver disease is among the leading causes accounting for approximately 2 mn deaths per year worldwide. 50% of these are caused due to complications of cirrhosis while viral hepatitis accounts for the rest 50%. Cirrhosis is the 11 th most common cause of death globally. The global prevalence of viral...