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A mysterious hepatitis A epidemic hits the Czech Republic, and Prague in particular.
10/15/2025
One of the most significant hepatitis A epidemics in the last 35 years is currently raging in the Czech Republic, particularly in Prague, where more than 800 cases have already been recorded and ten people have died since the beginning of the year.
According to data from the National Institute of Health (SZÚ), the current epidemic of viral hepatitis A is the second most serious since 1989. The number of cases recorded in 1996 (2,083 for the whole year) was even higher than that recorded this year: between the beginning of January and October 5, 1,842 cases were reported to the health authorities across the country, which is also about five times more than in 2024 during the first nine months of the year.
Although the Czech Republic, like other industrialized countries, is a region of low endemicity, it is in Prague where the circulation of this acute infectious liver disease, which is also the most widespread viral hepatitis in the world, is greatest, as the mayor of the capital, Bohuslav Svoboda, explained at the end of September:
"This is a local epidemic. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 700 cases have been reported. During the last week (of September), 75 people contracted the disease. By comparison, in 2024, only 47 cases were recorded for the entire year. The situation could stabilize if the vaccination rate increases and if preventive measures are strictly observed, namely regular handwashing with warm water and soap while using a disinfectant."
Since this warning, the numbers have continued to rise. On Tuesday, October 14, the city's hygiene department reported on the social network X that ten people had died in Prague since the beginning of the year after contracting hepatitis A.
A total of 826 cases have been reported in the capital (only six of them as recently as January, compared to 207 in September), including nearly 150 among children. Last year, two people died from this infectious disease, also sometimes called "dirty hands disease," across the Czech Republic, compared to twenty-one already this year, including nineteen men.
Nearly half of these victims were aged 50 to 69. Among the various health complications already suffered by these deceased people, the SZÚ cites acute liver failure, chronic kidney disease, another type of chronic jaundice, inflammation of the pancreas, and liver cirrhosis. In several cases, they were also homeless and suffering from alcoholism.
However, Petr Husa, head of the infectious diseases department at the University Hospital in Brno, the capital of Moravia, told Czech Radio on Tuesday that there was no need to be overly concerned about the outbreak:
“The current situation is nothing extraordinary. From time to time, we face local outbreaks of hepatitis A. In Brno, for example, and throughout the region, we experienced an outbreak between 2016 and 2017 that required the hospitalization of more than 500 people. Our population is very vulnerable to this type of hepatitis. Almost no one has been infected, so no one has antibodies, and the vaccination rate against hepatitis A is low. This means that if a serious epidemiological focus develops, which is currently happening mainly among people with lower levels of hygiene, the infection can then spread to the majority population.”
In any case, while the Prague 1 district town hall has announced that it wants to vaccinate teachers, administrative employees and social workers against hepatitis A and B free of charge, since the end of September, the Prague public transport company, which serves some three million passengers daily, has stepped up cleaning of its vehicles and its busiest metro stations.
While the complete cleaning of, say, a tram - inside and out - requires about two hours of work for a team of three, as a Czech Radio report explained this Wednesday morning, the operation has now become very regular, with methods identical to those used during the Covid-19 pandemic. So if you're passing through Prague, don't be afraid to use public transport...
Author:
Guillaume Narguet
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Hepatitis A: 61 new cases in Prague in one week
10/21/2025
Over the past week, doctors reported 61 new cases of hepatitis A in Prague, the highest number reported in the past three years, according to the National Institute of Health. Since the beginning of the year, 887 cases have been recorded, including 157 children, according to the Czech capital's health department.
The Ministry of Health acknowledged that due to a significant increase in interest in vaccination, there may be a local and temporary shortage of vaccines, particularly for children. According to the spokesperson, exceptional deliveries have already been made and more are expected.
Author:
Anna Kubišta
A mysterious hepatitis A epidemic hits the Czech Republic, and Prague in particular.
10/15/2025
One of the most significant hepatitis A epidemics in the last 35 years is currently raging in the Czech Republic, particularly in Prague, where more than 800 cases have already been recorded and ten people have died since the beginning of the year.
According to data from the National Institute of Health (SZÚ), the current epidemic of viral hepatitis A is the second most serious since 1989. The number of cases recorded in 1996 (2,083 for the whole year) was even higher than that recorded this year: between the beginning of January and October 5, 1,842 cases were reported to the health authorities across the country, which is also about five times more than in 2024 during the first nine months of the year.
Although the Czech Republic, like other industrialized countries, is a region of low endemicity, it is in Prague where the circulation of this acute infectious liver disease, which is also the most widespread viral hepatitis in the world, is greatest, as the mayor of the capital, Bohuslav Svoboda, explained at the end of September:
"This is a local epidemic. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 700 cases have been reported. During the last week (of September), 75 people contracted the disease. By comparison, in 2024, only 47 cases were recorded for the entire year. The situation could stabilize if the vaccination rate increases and if preventive measures are strictly observed, namely regular handwashing with warm water and soap while using a disinfectant."
Since this warning, the numbers have continued to rise. On Tuesday, October 14, the city's hygiene department reported on the social network X that ten people had died in Prague since the beginning of the year after contracting hepatitis A.
A total of 826 cases have been reported in the capital (only six of them as recently as January, compared to 207 in September), including nearly 150 among children. Last year, two people died from this infectious disease, also sometimes called "dirty hands disease," across the Czech Republic, compared to twenty-one already this year, including nineteen men.
Nearly half of these victims were aged 50 to 69. Among the various health complications already suffered by these deceased people, the SZÚ cites acute liver failure, chronic kidney disease, another type of chronic jaundice, inflammation of the pancreas, and liver cirrhosis. In several cases, they were also homeless and suffering from alcoholism.
However, Petr Husa, head of the infectious diseases department at the University Hospital in Brno, the capital of Moravia, told Czech Radio on Tuesday that there was no need to be overly concerned about the outbreak:
“The current situation is nothing extraordinary. From time to time, we face local outbreaks of hepatitis A. In Brno, for example, and throughout the region, we experienced an outbreak between 2016 and 2017 that required the hospitalization of more than 500 people. Our population is very vulnerable to this type of hepatitis. Almost no one has been infected, so no one has antibodies, and the vaccination rate against hepatitis A is low. This means that if a serious epidemiological focus develops, which is currently happening mainly among people with lower levels of hygiene, the infection can then spread to the majority population.”
In any case, while the Prague 1 district town hall has announced that it wants to vaccinate teachers, administrative employees and social workers against hepatitis A and B free of charge, since the end of September, the Prague public transport company, which serves some three million passengers daily, has stepped up cleaning of its vehicles and its busiest metro stations.
While the complete cleaning of, say, a tram - inside and out - requires about two hours of work for a team of three, as a Czech Radio report explained this Wednesday morning, the operation has now become very regular, with methods identical to those used during the Covid-19 pandemic. So if you're passing through Prague, don't be afraid to use public transport...
Author:
Guillaume Narguet
------------------------------------------------------------
Hepatitis A: 61 new cases in Prague in one week
10/21/2025
Over the past week, doctors reported 61 new cases of hepatitis A in Prague, the highest number reported in the past three years, according to the National Institute of Health. Since the beginning of the year, 887 cases have been recorded, including 157 children, according to the Czech capital's health department.
The Ministry of Health acknowledged that due to a significant increase in interest in vaccination, there may be a local and temporary shortage of vaccines, particularly for children. According to the spokesperson, exceptional deliveries have already been made and more are expected.
Author:
Anna Kubišta
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