The decline in the reported number of new transmissions of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections across European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries has continued.
In this report, we provide an overview of the data reported by countries in the EU and EEA in 2023 to describe progress towards the 2025 interim targets for hepatitis elimination as outlined in the WHO European Region Action Plan 2022–2030.
In 2022, 23 273 cases of hepatitis C were reported in 29 EU/EEA countries. Excluding countries that only reported acute cases, 23 249 cases were notified, corresponding to a crude rate of 6.2 cases per 100 000 population.
This joint guidance by the ECDC and EMCDDA aims to strengthen the evidence base for developing national strategies for preventing and controlling infections and infectious diseases among people who inject drugs.
This document is an update of the joint guidance that was published in 2011 by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
In 2021, 14 560 cases of hepatitis C were reported in 29 EU/EEA Member States. Excluding countries that only reported acute cases the number of cases (14 550 cases) corresponds to a crude rate of 4.1 cases per 100 000 population.
For 2020, 28 countries reported 1 647 cases of hantavirus infection (0.4 cases per 100 000 population), mainly caused by Puumala virus (98%). During the period 2016–2020, the overall notification rate fluctuated between 0.4 and 1.0 cases per 100 00 population, with no obvious long-term trend.