The Federal Ministry of Health says no fewer than 16 million individuals in Nigeria are living with chronic Hepatitis B and C virus.

According to the ministry, the discovery is sequel to a National HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey carried out in 2018.

A representative for Viral Hepatitis Control in Nigeria, Clement Adeshigbin, said this during a training organised for health workers on how to manage the disease in Taraba State.

According to him, viral hepatitis is a silent killer and it is now globally known to be 10 times more widespread than HIV/AIDS, hence the decentralisation of its treatment in order to control it.

He adds that the choice of Taraba for the training is in view of the fact that the state has a high prevalence of 19 per cent with 2 million individuals living with the virus.

Adeshigbin insists that the state government is committed to subsidizing the treatment for patients.