Hepatitis A and E are typically caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water. Hepatitis B, C and D usually occur as a result of parenteral (blood-to-blood) contact with infected body fluids (e.g. from blood transfusions or invasive medical procedures using contaminated equipment). Hepatitis B and C can also be transmitted through sexual contact.
Symptoms include jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Hepatitis infections can be asymptomatic, however, and hard to detect without proper testing.
Hepatitis B and C affect millions of people in the European Region. Worldwide 500 million people are estimated to be infected with hepatitis B or C. These viruses kill 1.5 million people a year; 1 in every 3 people has been exposed to either or both viruses and most infected people do not know about it.
The number of cases of hepatitis B and C reported in the WHO European Region does not necessarily reflect the full extent of transmission. A synthesis report on effective interventions to reduce hepatitis C infection from WHO/Europe’s Health Evidence Network (HEN) estimates prevalence up to 98% among injecting drug users.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control estimates:
- an overall hepatitis B incidence of 1.49 per 100 000;
- a hepatitis C incidence of 8.7 per 100 000 in the Member States of the European Union (EU); and
- high prevalence in injecting drug users.
