Latvia is an EU hepatitis blackspot
Latvia currently holds the second-highest per capita death rate for viral hepatitis in the European Union. While overall EU hepatitis deaths have declined significantly since 2013, the disease remains a persistent public health challenge, particularly affecting men and working-age populations.
Why it matters
The data highlights significant regional disparities in public health outcomes across Europe, signaling a need for targeted intervention in high-risk areas like Latvia and Italy.
On the one hand, hepatitis deaths across the continent have fallen considerably in recent years, but on the other hand, Latvia still has the second-highest rate of per capita hepatitis deaths in the whole of the European Union. In 2023, there were 3 172 deaths from viral hepatitis in the EU, the lowest figure recorded since the data collection started in 2011. This represents a 9.3% decrease compared with 2022 (3 499), and a 53.7% drop since 2013 (6 856). The disease disproportionately affects men, who accounted for 58.3% of all viral hepatitis deaths. It affected both the elderly and the working age population.
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