The WHO European Region is the only Region worldwide where the number of new HIV infections is rising. With more than 160 000 people newly diagnosed with HIV across the Region, including more than 29 000 new cases from the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), this trend continued in 2016.
An estimated 122 000 people living with HIV across Europe are not aware of their HIV infection and a large number out of the estimated 9 million Europeans that are affected by chronic hepatitis B or C have not yet been tested or diagnosed. ECDC welcomes the efforts of European HIV-Hepatitis Testing Week which starts today.
A study published in The Lancet HIV today showed that while the rate of newly reported HIV cases in Europe remained steady in younger people between 2004 and 2015, it increased by 2% each year overall in older people. With around 30 000 newly diagnosed HIV infections reported each year over the last decade, the HIV epidemic remains a significant public health problem in the 31 countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA),
Since June 2016, 16 European countries are experiencing hepatitis A outbreaks with 1 500 reported cases involving three separate clusters that mainly affect men who have sex with men. On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, ECDC stresses the importance of hepatitis A vaccination and safe sex practices including the use of condoms to avoid new infections. As several EU/EEA countries experience hepatitis A vaccine shortages, targeting of vaccination to groups at higher risk of infection is suggested.
An estimated 4.7 million Europeans are living with chronic hepatitis B and almost 4 million (3.9) with chronic hepatitis C infection. However, large numbers of them are not even aware of their infection as they have not yet been tested and diagnosed.
The incidence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection has been steadily increasing across the countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) with 21 081 cases reported in the EU/EEA over the last decade.
The latest ECDC mosquito maps show new information about the geographical distribution of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti, invasive mosquitoes which can transmit diseases such as dengue and Zika, in Europe.
Hepatitis and other drug-related infectious diseases will be the focus of ‘Hepatitis week’, taking place at the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) in Lisbon from 12–16 June 2017. The initiative will bring together some 100 specialists from: EU Member States, candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU, as well as partner agencies, civil society and professional organisations.
The continuum of HIV care is a framework that enables countries to monitor the effectiveness of their HIV response - from diagnosis towards viral suppression (which means that the virus is no longer detectable in the blood). This report provides a snapshot of the status of the continuum of care for the whole region as well as each of the 48 countries reporting at least some continuum data.