Bangladesh, July 28 -- Bangladesh is among the 10 countries with the highest numbers of people living with hepatitis C, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, urging the country to accelerate efforts to expand access to hepatitis prevention, testing and treatment.

Ahead of World Hepatitis Day, observed on 28 July, the UN health agency called for urgent action to remove the barriers that continue to prevent millions of people from receiving lifesaving hepatitis services.

According to the WHO, chronic viral hepatitis remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, claiming an estimated 1.3 million lives each year, primarily due to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Hepatitis B and C account for around 95 per cent o...