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Every monsoon, the same pattern repeats itself in hospital wards across Delhi-NCR. Admissions for hepatitis A and E climb, fevers and jaundice cases pile up, and by the time festival season winds down, doctors are back to counting the toll. It is a rhythm so familiar that it barely makes headlines anymore — and that, physicians warn, is precisely the problem.
India carries one of the heaviest hepatitis burdens in the world. According to the World Health Organisation’s Global Hepatitis Report 2026, it is among ten countries that together account for nearly 69% of hepatitis B-related deaths worldwide and 58% of global hepatitis C deaths. What makes the crisis harder to fight is not the virus itself, but the delay in diagnosis and treatment. .
Dr. Saurabh Singhal, Consultant Orthopaedics, Aakash Healthcare said, “Hepatitis A and E spike every monsoon because of contaminated water and poor sanitation, and most of those patients recover. But it is the hepatitis B and C cases — the quiet, chronic ones — that worry us most, because patients often don’t know they are carrying the infection until liver damage is already underway. Awareness and early testing remain the biggest gaps in our country.”
Internal case records from Aakash Healthcare showed that in 2025, they received a total of 383 cases, while included 21 cases of acute hepatitis A, 7 cases of hepatitis A with hepatic coma, and 215 cases of hepatitis A (acute, viral). Acute Hepatitis E accounted for 47 cases. In the first six months of 2026, they received a total of 83 cases, out of which Hepatitis A (acute, viral) were the highest at 44.
“Hepatitis doesn’t always announce itself. Many patients walk in for something unrelated and are stunned to learn their liver has been silently damaged for years,” said Dr. Amit Miglani, Director & HOD Gastroenterology, Asian Hospital. “That’s why we keep pushing for opportunistic screening, especially in patients with diabetes, obesity, or a family history of liver disease, rather than waiting for symptoms to show up.”
“The biggest shift we need in India is treating hepatitis B and C the way we treat any chronic disease. Though hepatitis B can be kept under control with medication, we can cure hepatitis C with newer anti viral medications (DAA).” said Dr. Pavan Hanchanale, Consultant – Hepatology & Liver Transplant Physician, Jupiter Hospital, Pune.
Doctors also stress that hepatitis’ reach extends well beyond the liver, into intimate areas of health rarely discussed in public.
“Hepatitis is often perceived as a liver disease, but its impact extends far beyond the liver,” said Dr. Vineet Malhotra, Head of Urology, VNA Hospital “Chronic hepatitis, particularly hepatitis B and C, can disrupt hormone metabolism, reduce testosterone levels, cause fatigue and psychological stress, and contribute to sexual dysfunction, including reduced libido and erectile difficulties in some men.”
Dr Vineet Malhotra added, “Advanced liver disease may also affect sperm quality and overall fertility. Early diagnosis, timely antiviral treatment, hepatitis B vaccination and routine liver health screening can help avoid long term complications while preserving both overall and reproductive health.”
For women the stakes are just as big, especially with pregnancy. “Hepatitis can have important implications for women’s reproductive health,” explained Dr. Hrishikesh Pai, Gynecologist Lilavati Hospital Mumbai and Fortis Hospital New Delhi. “While many women with chronic hepatitis can conceive successfully, untreated hepatitis B or C increases the need for careful monitoring before and during pregnancy to reduce the risk of maternal complications and mother-to-child transmission.
With WHO’s 2030 elimination targets still a distant goal for India, doctors agree on one point: the disease’s real danger lies in its silence. Wider screening, routine vaccination, and simply talking about hepatitis beyond the monsoon season, they say, may matter as much as any new drug.
