Hepatitis C in Poland in 2022.

Abstract

Background: The war invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to mass migration. By January 3, 2023, nearly a million people sought refuge in Poland. The Polish Act on Assistance to Ukrainian Citizens provided comprehensive support, ensuring legal residence, free medical insurance, social benefits, and access to education and employment. Simultaneously, the global public health crisis persisted, with the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic driven by the Omicron variant. The epidemic state in Poland was lifted on May, 2022.

Objective: This paper aims to summarize the epidemiological situation of HCV infections in Poland in 2022, a year characterized by dual crises.

Material and methods: Epidemiological surveillance case-based data on HCV for 2022, diagnosis rates from bulletins for the years 2014-2022, and the number of deaths for 2022 from Statistics Poland were compared with previous years' data.

Results: In 2022, the rate of new HCV diagnoses rose to 6.68 per 100,000, totaling 2,528 cases (a 46% increase from the previous year). Polish nationals accounted for 87% of cases. Gender distribution was equal. There was an overall increase in HCV diagnoses across all voivodeships, with a return to pre-pandemic trends observed only in Zachodniopomorskie. Diagnoses were predominantly made in primary healthcare (one-third) and during hospitalization (one-fourth). Twenty-six cases of acute hepatitis C (1%, PL definition) were identified. At diagnosis, 5.6% of infected showed signs of liver damage. Hepatitis C was responsible for 86 deaths. Imported infections accounted for 5.7% of cases. 2.7% of HCV infections in 2022 were diagnosed in refugees from Ukraine, mainly in women aged 40 to 59. All persons of Ukrainian nationality accounted for 10.4% of HCV cases detected in 2022.

Conclusions: Expanding the availability and accessibility of testing is essential, particularly addressing the needs of key populations, including non-Polish speakers. The strategy for HCV elimination should encompass comprehensive measures aimed at prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to effectively curb the virus's spread among subgroups and mitigate its long-term health impacts.