In the Czech Republic, the number of Hepatitis A infections has reached its highest level in decades. Prague remains particularly affected. Authorities, however, have reported a decline in newly reported cases. Despite the slight easing, officials continue to urge caution and heightened hygiene.
According to the State Health Institute (SZÚ), 34 people have already died of Hepatitis A in the Czech Republic this year. By comparison, there were only two deaths in the whole of last year. By the end of last week, the hygiene authorities had recorded 3,049 confirmed infections, the institute reported. In 2024, 636 cases had been reported nationwide. This means the number of Hepatitis A cases has reached its highest level since 1984.
Despite the high overall figures, there has recently been a slight easing. In recent weeks, the number of newly reported weekly cases has been declining, the SZÚ explained. While 158 new infections were recorded in week 48, the figure fell to 95 a week later and to 74 cases in week 50.
Prague remains the most affected, with 1,303 infections so far, followed by the Central Bohemia region with 461 cases. Authorities have, however, observed a renewed increase in recent weeks in the South Moravian region, particularly among the homeless and university students.
Hepatitis A in the Czech Republic
Until the mid-1960s, hepatitis epidemics occurred almost annually in the former Czechoslovakia. Only afterwards did a gradual improvement in hygienic conditions begin—particularly through better access to clean drinking water and the expansion of sewage systems.
Since the second half of the 1960s, the long-term trend of Hepatitis A cases in the Czech Republic has generally been downward. A notable exception was 1979, when a large-scale foodborne epidemic broke out. More than 32,000 cases were recorded at that time.
Authorities continue to urge heightened hygiene despite slight easing of the situation
As the virus is primarily transmitted through poor hand hygiene, authorities and doctors continue to urge the public to take extra care. Regular handwashing with water and soap remains the simplest and most important form of protection. The duration of handwashing is crucial—at least ten to twenty seconds—and ideally followed by disinfection.
The symptoms of Hepatitis A initially resemble flu: fever, loss of appetite, nausea, and pain in the right upper abdomen. Later, jaundice of the skin and eyes, dark urine, pale stools, and sometimes severe itching appear—typical signs of liver inflammation.
