One in every five adult Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar is living with Hepatitis C, according to operational data and research findings. A study published in Muslim Network TV by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) revealed that total viral hepatitis prevalence among the refugee population stands at 18.97 percent.
High Hepatitis C Rates Impact Rohingya Refugees in Cox’s Bazar
By comparison, viral hepatitis affects 2.01 percent of the surrounding Bangladeshi host population. The disparity is driven overwhelmingly by Hepatitis C, which impacts 17.24 percent of refugees compared to just 1.01 percent of local residents, according to the study titled Prevalence and risk factors of Hepatitis B and C virus infections among Rohingya refugees and host communities in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
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Origins of the Crisis and Medical Risks
Operational data from the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner and Médecins Sans Frontières indicate that between 20 and 22 percent of nearly 150,000 Rohingya who entered Bangladesh in recent months tested positive for Hepatitis C. Sarwar Jahan, assistant medical coordinator at RRRC, stated that these figures strongly suggest most infections originated in Myanmar rather than through widespread transmission inside the camps.
Health experts and refugees attribute the high infection rates to unsafe healthcare practices in Myanmar prior to displacement. Sumaiya Yousuf, a medical doctor with the MSF Hepatitis C Project, noted that patients often arrive without obvious symptoms because the disease can remain symptomless for years, typically presenting only with fatigue, poor appetite, or abdominal pain.
Kamal Hossain, a 30-year-old refugee who fled Myanmar in 2017, received a Hepatitis C diagnosis in 2025 that explained years of exhaustion and dark vision episodes. Kamal, whose parents and sister were also infected, recalled Doctors sometimes used the same syringe for several patients without changing it. At the time, we thought that was normal because nobody explained the risks.
Kamal has since been cured after completing antiviral treatment in the camp.
Treatment Gaps and Impact on Host Communities
While nearly 59,000 patients have been enrolled in antiviral therapy, approximately 50,000 diagnosed individuals remain untreated due to funding shortages, according to RRRC data. Without treatment, Hepatitis C can progress to liver cirrhosis or liver cancer.
The health challenge has also affected neighboring host communities. Hepatitis C prevalence among Bangladeshis living in Ukhiya and Teknaf has reached 2.3 percent, which is more than double the national average of approximately 1.1 percent.
Recommendations and Future Prevention
Professor Dr Mohammad Ali, founder and secretary general of the National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh, whose 2021 study first exposed the high HCV burden among refugees, emphasized the need for coordinated action. Ali stated, We need expanded screening, universal access to treatment, stronger infection prevention and sustained awareness programmes so that transmission can be interrupted before more people develop advanced liver disease.
Researchers from icddr,b called for Rohingya refugees to be fully integrated into Bangladesh’s national viral hepatitis elimination strategy. Their recommendations include:
- Culturally appropriate health education
- Wider access to rapid and confirmatory testing
- Free antiviral treatment for all active cases
- Routine hepatitis screening during pregnancy
- Timely Hepatitis B vaccination for newborns
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