Hepatitis A cases in 2021 were at their lowest levels since EU-level hepatitis A surveillance began in 2007, while five other food and waterborne diseases are rising towards pre-pandemic levels. The information is revealed in the Annual Epidemiological Report 2021, of which six chapters are published today by ECDC.
In 2021, 30 EU/EEA countries reported 3 864 cases of hepatitis A (Table 1). The EU/EEA notification rate was 0.9 cases per 100 000 population. In 2021, both the lowest number of reported cases and the lowest notification rate were reported since the beginning of EU-level hepatitis A surveillance in 2007. The total number of hepatitis A cases reported in EU/EEA countries in 2021 represented a decrease of 65.7% and 12.3% compared to 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Viral hepatitis is an infection that causes inflammation of the liver. It can be caused by different viruses, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Both HBV and HCV can cause acute and chronic infections and are leading causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 4 – 10 December 2022 and includes updates on COVID-19, Ebola virus, respiratory syncytial virus, streptococcal infection, diphtheria, seasonal influenza, mpox (monkeypox), hepatitis, MERS-CoV, meningitis, and mass gathering monitoring at the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar.