Hepatitis B in Poland in 2019

Assessment of hepatitis B epidemiological situation in Poland in 2019 compared to previous years.

Data on the incidence of hepatitis B and HBV infections from 2019 registered by sanitary and epidemiological stations in the electronic Epidemiological Interview Registration System in Poland were analyzed. Data from the published annual bulletins: "Infectious diseases and poisonings in Poland" and "Vaccinations in Poland" were also used. Data on deaths were obtained from the Central Statistical Office.

In 2019, 2,854 cases of hepatitis B were reported, which corresponds to the incidence of 7.4 per 100,000 population. Acute cases accounted for 1.6% of all registered cases. The incidence of acute hepatitis B was higher by 20% than in 2018 and lower by 20% than the median incidence for 2013-2017. There were no acute cases among children and adolescents aged 0-19 years. In the age group 20-24, 1 case was reported. The incidence of chronic and unknown stage of hepatitis B was lower by 11% than in the previous year, however, compared to the median incidence of chronic hepatitis B in 2013-2017, it was lower by 15%. As in previous years, acute, chronic and unknown infections occurred more often among men than among women, and more often among urban than rural residents. The most common and probable routes of HBV infections were medical procedures, which accounted for 75% of cases with a known route of transmission. In 2019, the HBV vaccination coverage with the third vaccine dose in children born in 2018 was 90.5%, which is less than in previous year. In 2019, 29 people died due to hepatitis B, including one as a result of an acute infection.

The incidence of hepatitis B in Poland over the years (2015-2019) has a decreasing tendency. Among people covered by universal HBV vaccinations, born after 1994, no acute cases were reported. However, the decrease in newborns and infants vaccination coverage may cause the increased risk of new HBV infections, even in the people subject to compulsory vaccinations against hepatitis B. Changes introduced in the surveillance system on hepatitis B in 2014 allow for the levelling of territorial discrepancies in the hepatitis B registered cases and allow for the assessment of the actual number of newly detected HBV infections. The persistence of the low incidence of acute hepatitis B indicates the need to maintain the preventive measures applied so far, in particular the universal compulsory vaccinations of newborns and recommending vaccinations to all previously unvaccinated people.