Every year, around 50 000 newly diagnosed cases of hepatitis B and C are reported across Europe but millions are unaware of their infection. Left untreated, hepatitis can cause irreversible liver damage. Hepatitis A is recognised as a re-emerging health threat in Europe.
Monitoring and responding to HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs is the focus of two new reports from the EU drugs agencies EMCDDA and ECDC.
As of 6 August 2013, the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish public health institutes reported 106 cases associated with the hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection outbreak affecting their countries since 1 October 2012. Of these, 64 were confirmed and 42 were probable.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Food Safety Authority launched their annual report on zoonoses and food-borne outbreaks.
On 8 March, the Health Protection Agency in the United Kingdom reported an additional fatal case of anthrax in Suffolk, England. It concerns a person who injected heroin. This brings the number of anthrax cases among injecting drug users in the EU to 14, since June 2012.
Unknown, undiagnosed, untreated - hepatitis affects millions of people around the world but as many infections are accompanied by no symptoms, the disease is often not diagnosed. Untreated chronic infection with hepatitis B and C may progress to liver cirrhosis or cancer.