Veteran Indian Actor Amitabh Bachchan was appointed the goodwill ambassador for hepatitis in Southeast Asia.
Mr. Bachchan, a survivor of Hepatitis B, will be the face of an intensive campaign to curb the spread of the disease and create awareness of its prevention.
He contracted the disease in after he suffered an accident while shooting on the sets in 1982. He was administered several units of blood and one of them was carrying the hepatitis virus.
According to the World Health Organisation’s latest estimates, 90 million people suffer from chronic liver disease.
The disease claims 4.1 lakh lives in the Southeast Asia every year; mostly people who are in their productive years.