Hepatitis Europe 2030 targets at risk despite prevention gains
ECDC says Europe has cut hepatitis B and C transmission, but vaccine and harm-reduction gaps threaten the 2030 elimination goal.
By Tom Brennan · Health & Medicine Correspondent
3 min read
Europe is making progress against viral hepatitis, but hepatitis Europe 2030 targets remain out of reach under current prevention efforts, according to new data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The agency said uneven vaccination and harm-reduction coverage are holding back efforts to eliminate hepatitis B and C as public health threats.
ECDC released the findings on World Hepatitis Day, pointing to clear gains in several areas. Hepatitis B prevalence is now near zero among children younger than 5 in the region, which the agency linked to long-running prevention measures, including childhood immunisation.
Viral hepatitis can cause chronic infection and serious liver disease. Hepatitis C can be cured with treatment, while hepatitis B can be controlled and prevented through vaccination, according to ECDC.
Why is Europe likely to miss the 2030 hepatitis target?
ECDC said the main problem is uneven use of known tools, rather than a lack of available prevention measures. Those tools include hepatitis B vaccination, testing, infection control, treatment, and services that reduce risk among people who inject drugs.
Routine screening for hepatitis B during pregnancy is now in place across all 30 European Union and European Economic Area countries, ECDC said. That screening has helped cut mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B to below 2% across the EU/EEA.
The agency also reported sustained declines in acute hepatitis B infections since 2006. Among people younger than 25, the share of acute hepatitis B cases fell from 11% in 2015 to 8% in 2024, a trend ECDC attributed to childhood vaccination programmes and other prevention work.
Blood, tissue and cell safety systems have also improved. ECDC said comprehensive screening arrangements are in place across the region to reduce the risk of hepatitis B or C transmission through blood, tissues or cells, and a recent agency survey found many countries have strong systems aligned with new EU safety standards for substances of human origin.
Where are the biggest prevention gaps?
Despite those gains, ECDC said viral hepatitis remains a major public health burden in Europe. The agency estimates that 5 million people in the EU/EEA are living with chronic hepatitis B or C, and that almost 60,000 people die each year from liver disease linked to the infections.
Childhood vaccination coverage is one gap. ECDC said only nine of 25 EU/EEA countries have reached the World Health Organization target of fully vaccinating 95% of children against hepatitis B, and some countries have reported recent declines in coverage.
Harm-reduction services are another weak point. ECDC said injecting drug use accounts for most hepatitis C cases for which the route of transmission is known, but only seven countries meet the WHO target for distributing sterile injecting equipment to people who inject drugs.
Opioid agonist treatment and sterile needles and syringes can reduce transmission, ECDC said, but coverage remains inadequate across the EU/EEA. The agency and the European Union Drugs Agency have identified interventions for people who inject drugs and developed an online toolkit to support hepatitis elimination efforts in prisons.
ECDC said better health care in prisons and other community settings would reduce transmission and move Europe closer to ending viral hepatitis as a public health threat. Without wider and more consistent prevention coverage, the agency said the region is not on track for the 2030 goal.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.