Following the reports of cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin by the UK Health Security Agency, additional cases in children have been reported in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain.
This reporting protocol is intended for reporting national case-based data for surveillance of hepatitis of unknown origin from all the countries and areas of the WHO European Region, including the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) and the additional three countries of the European Economic Area (EEA), to the European level.
ECDC has been informed of an increase in acute hepatitis cases in children during the past few weeks in the United Kingdom (UK) and is sharing this information internationally to increase awareness among clinicians taking care of children, to determine whether there are any similar cases in other countries.
This report provides an overview of the cases of hepatitis of unknown origin in children aged 16 years and below reported to ECDC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe through The European Surveillance System (TESSy).
The 2022–2023 ECDC PPS was the third EU-wide point prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use in acute care hospitals.
This annual meeting of National ECDC Correspondents focused on the technical cooperation developments over the last year in the areas of disease surveillance, microbiology, preparedness and response.
ECDC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe are publishing a joint surveillance bulletin on the current outbreak of hepatitis of unknown origin in children.
Following the initial report of an increase of severe acute hepatitis cases of unknown aetiology among previously healthy children by the United Kingdom on 5 April 2022, and as of 20 April 2022, 111 cases, aged 10 and under have been identified in that country.