BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is not notifiable at EU/EEA level, therefore surveillance relies on national policies only. Between 2005 and 2015, more than 20,000 cases were reported in EU/EEA countries. HEV testing is established in 26 countries and 19 countries sequence HEV viruses. OBJECTIVE AND STUDY DESIGN: WHO's European Action plan for viral hepatitis recommends harmonised surveillance objectives and case definitions. ECDC's HEV expert group developed minimal and optimal criteria for national hepatitis E surveillance to support EU/EEA countries in enhancing their capacity and to harmonise methods. RESULTS: The experts agreed that the primary objectives of national surveillance for HEV infections should focus on the basic epidemiology of the disease: to monitor the incidence of acute cases and chronic infections. The secondary objectives should be to describe viral phylotypes or subtypes and to identify potential clusters/outbreaks and possible routes of transmission. Seventeen of 20 countries with existing surveillance systems collect the minimal data set required to describe the epidemiology of acute cases. Eleven countries test for chronic infections. Twelve countries collect data to identify potential clusters/outbreaks and information on possible routes of transmission. DISCUSSION: Overall, the majority of EU/EEA countries collect the suggested data and meet the outlined requirements to confirm an acute case.

• MeSH
• epidemický výskyt choroby MeSH
• epidemiologické monitorování MeSH
• Evropská unie MeSH
• hepatitida E diagnóza   epidemiologie   MeSH
• incidence MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• RNA virová analýza   MeSH
• surveillance populace MeSH
• Světová zdravotnická organizace MeSH
• virus hepatitidy E genetika   MeSH
• vládní programy normy   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is endemic in EU/EEA countries, but the understanding of the burden of the infection in humans is inconsistent as the disease is not under EU surveillance but subject to national policies. STUDY: Countries were asked to nominate experts and to complete a standardised questionnaire about the epidemiological situation and surveillance of HEV in their respective EU/EEA country. This study reviewed surveillance systems for human cases of HEV in EU/EEA countries and nominated experts assessed the epidemiology in particular examining the recent increase in the number of autochthonous cases. RESULTS: Surveillance systems and case definitions across EU/EEA countries were shown to be highly variable and testing algorithms were unreliable. Large increases of autochthonous cases were reported from Western EU/EEA countries with lower case numbers seen in Northern and Southern European countries. Lack of clinical awareness and variability in testing strategies might account for the observed differences in hepatitis E incidence across EU/EEA countries. Infections were predominantly caused by HEV genotype 3, the most prevalent virus type in the animal reservoirs. CONCLUSION: Discussions from the expert group supported joint working across countries to better monitor the epidemiology and possible changes in risk of virus acquisition at a European level. There was agreement to share surveillance strategies and algorithms but also importantly the collation of HEV data from human and animal populations. These data collected at a European level would serve the 'One Health' approach to better informing on human exposure to HEV.

• MeSH
• endemické nemoci * MeSH
• hepatitida epidemiologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• osobní újma zaviněná nemocí MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa epidemiologie   MeSH