Hepatitis B 2023 - acute and chronic

Annual report for hepatitis B in Denmark 2023

In 2023, the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Prevention received a total of 108 reports of hepatitis B.

Acute hepatitis B

In 2023, nine people with acute hepatitis B were reported (five women and four men). The median age was 42 years (range 20-72 years). Six of the reported cases were of Danish origin, while the others were of non-Danish origin. The majority were infected in Denmark, and the most frequent mode of transmission was sexual transmission. This included both heterosexual transmission and transmission between men who have sex with men (MSM).

Chronic hepatitis B

In 2023, 99 cases of chronic hepatitis B were reported. In comparison, 92 cases were reported in 2022, table 1.

The median age was 36 years (range 19-78 years), figure 1. Women accounted for 57% of the reported cases of chronic hepatitis B. The median age for women was 34 years (range 19-63 years) and for men 42 years (range 23-78 years). It should be noted that the preponderance of women reported with chronic hepatitis B is influenced by the systematic screening of pregnant women.

The vast majority of reported cases of chronic hepatitis B were of foreign origin (89%). The five most frequent countries of origin were Romania, China, Turkey, the Philippines and Afghanistan.

Presumed source of infection and country of infection

In total, 56% of the women (32 women) had been found in the general screening of pregnant women. None of the 32 women were born in Denmark. The majority of these were assessed by the reporting physician as having been infected at birth.

Almost half (47 cases, 48%) of the reported cases of chronic hepatitis B were reported as infected at birth. Two of the 47 cases assessed as infected at birth were infected in Denmark before the introduction of the general screening of pregnant women. The remaining 45 cases were born abroad, distributed across 21 different countries. Thus, none of those infected at birth were born in Denmark after the introduction of the general screening of pregnant women in November 2005. The median age for the cases assessed as infected at birth was 34 years (range 19-78 years).

Ten cases were reported as nosocomially infected (infection acquired in a hospital environment) abroad. None were nosocomially infected in Denmark.

Six cases were reported as sexually transmitted (infection was seen in both Denmark and abroad).

Five cases were reported as infected through intravenous drug use; the most frequent country of infection was Denmark, but infection abroad was also seen.

Five cases were reported as infected in other ways, all infected abroad.

For the remaining 28 cases (28%), the mode of infection was not stated.

This report is also mentioned in EPI-NYT 47/2024.