Hepatitis A virus : the epidemic affects 11,000 people

lucidwaters/epictura

Published the 02.10.2017 at 14h35

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hepatitis AEuropeépidémieECDC

Hepatitis A flare up on the continent of europe. More than 11 000 cases have been reported since the beginning of the year. According to the european Centre for the control and prevention of diseases (ECDC), 19 countries – including France – are affected by this epidemic. The circulation of the virus is particularly intense.

Compared to previous years, the number of diagnoses is four times higher than in the same period. This is not surprising : a real peak of contamination occurred at the beginning of march. A delay in access to care, could explain this explosion. This concern for the european authorities, a sharp increase over the coming months.

Source : ECDC

At-risk populations…

Geographically, the epidemic is quite fair, and affects many countries. But she reached the male population disproportionately. The ECDC, there are four to five cases of male for a woman. On the whole of Europe, three-quarters of the cases involve men who have sex with men (MSM).

The situation is similar in France, where 80 % of diagnoses are made on male patients. A gross imbalance compared to previous years, says public Health France.

Source : public Health France

This distribution is no accident. Europe is among the areas where the infection rate is low. As explained by the world health Organization (WHO), hepatitis A “may occur in adolescents and adults belonging to high-risk groups” such as MSM, but injecting drug users.