World Hepatitis Day is marked on 28 July each year. The date exists precisely because these infections are called silent: a person feels entirely healthy and has no idea they are ill.

The Makariv Settlement Council issued the reminder.

Why the disease is silent

Liver tissue has no pain receptors, so inflammation can continue for years without any sensation. By the time clear symptoms appear — jaundice, heaviness under the right ribs, swelling — the organ is already substantially damaged.

Because of this, hepatitis B and C are mostly found by chance: during preparation for surgery, examinations at a maternity hospital, or when donating blood.

Who should be tested first

Risk is higher for anyone who has had a blood transfusion, a tattoo or piercing in unverified conditions, or dental or surgical procedures abroad or in field conditions. Hepatitis B is also transmitted sexually and from mother to child during birth.

Hepatitis testing is among the services available on a family doctor's referral. Rapid tests give a result within minutes, with laboratory confirmation to follow.

Hepatitis C is now curable

The main reason to talk about testing now: modern direct-acting antiviral drugs clear the hepatitis C virus completely within a course of a few months. A vaccine exists against hepatitis B.

So the situation where someone carries the infection for years and learns of it at the cirrhosis stage is entirely preventable today — the only question is whether they take the test.