Hepatitis A cases five times higher than year before, other infections also rise

Cases of hepatitis A in Czechia surged last year, with 3,255 people infected – around five times more than in the previous year, according to data from the State Health Institute. Health Ministry figures show this is the highest number recorded since 1984. The institute also reported increases in other infectious diseases. Last year saw the highest figures in a decade for scabies, shingles, blood poisoning and Lyme disease. Cases of measles and tick-borne encephalitis also rose. By contrast, whooping cough dropped sharply year-on-year, falling to less than a tenth of the previous level.