[Hepatitis B in Poland in 2008]

A total of 1337 hepatitis B cases (including 38 cases of co-infection with HCV) were reported in Poland in 2008, with incidence rate 3.51 per 100,000 population. In total number of registered hepatitis B cases 19.6% were acute ones (incidence 0.69; regionally ranged from 0.30 in zachodniopomorskie to 1.01 in małopolskie) and chronic hepatitis accounted for 80.4% of all cases (incidence 2.82 per 100,000). The registered acute hepatitis B incidence was 28% lower than in 2007 and decrease of this rate, more than 20% per year, was observed since 2005. Unlike acute, new chronic hepatitis B incidence was similar to that reported in previous years, and this situation seems to be fixed. Total hepatitis B incidence regionally varied from 1.12 in warmińsko-mazurskie to 6.57 in opolskie. The highest reported incidence (both acute and chronic) was observed in age groups 35-39 years old (5.61) and 15-19 (5.59). Acute hepatitis B incidence demonstrated three peaks: at the age 25-29 (1.03); at the age 35-39 (1.03) and at 75 and over (1.16). In contrast, the highest incidence of chronic type was in one age group only: 15-19 (5.25 per 100,000). The total incidence in the urban was higher than in rural areas (incidence 3.76 and 3.11 respectively) and also was higher (almost twice) in men (4.65) than in women (2.44). This situation we could observe in previous years. Overall the most affected groups were young adult, but age distribution varied in relation to sex and to the type of residence. Approximately 96.9% of acute hepatitis B and 75.3% of chronic cases were hospitalized in 2008 in Poland. 68 people died of hepatitis B, including 49 of chronic and 19 of acute hepatitis B.