Hepatitis C cases are surging in Czechia, with 2026 set to break record

Czechia is heading toward a record year for hepatitis C infections, with 1,368 cases detected through the end of August and five deaths reported so far, according to data from the State Health Institute (SZÚ).

The country has already recorded just seven fewer infections in eight months than during all of last year. If the current trend continues, 2026 will also surpass the previous decade-high of 1,447 cases recorded in 2024.

Unlike hepatitis A, which has recently attracted attention amid outbreaks in Czechia, hepatitis C can remain hidden for decades without obvious symptoms. Doctors estimate that as many as 60,000 people in the country may be living with the virus, with most unaware they have it.

New infections have been rising particularly quickly in recent months. After monthly totals remained below 200 during the first half of the year, authorities detected 204 cases in July and another 213 in August.

Five people have died from the disease this year, all men between the ages of 30 and 48, according to SZÚ data. Part of the increase may be explained by better testing and changes in how infectious diseases are reported.

"Case numbers are increasing thanks to better and more accessible diagnostics, but also because of the gradual digitization of infectious disease reporting," SZÚ epidemiologist Kateřina Fabiánová told Novinky.cz.

Doctors caution, however, that improved detection may not explain the entire increase. Pavel Dlouhý, head of the infectious diseases department at Masaryk Hospital in Ústí nad Labem, said he believes the number of people contracting the virus is genuinely rising.

The Ústí nad Labem region has recorded the most cases this year, with 309, followed by South Moravia with 223 and Central Bohemia with 199. By comparison, just 17 cases have been detected in the Zlín region.

Higher rates are partly associated with prisons and intravenous drug use. Sharing needles remains a major transmission route in Czechia, where an estimated 40,000 people inject drugs, according to Dlouhý.

Hepatitis C is primarily transmitted through infected blood, though sexual transmission and transmission from mother to child are also possible.

But doctors warn against viewing it solely as a disease affecting intravenous drug users. People can also have been exposed through tattoos or piercings performed with inadequately sterilized equipment, past medical procedures in countries with lower hygiene standards or earlier experimentation with injected drugs.

Older residents may face another historical risk. Blood donors were not routinely screened for hepatitis C before 1992, meaning some people infected through transfusions decades ago could still be unaware they carry the virus.

"Hepatitis C is particularly insidious because it can remain hidden for decades," IKEM hepatologist Soňa Fraňková told Novinky. Despite commonly being referred to as a form of jaundice, she noted, most infected people never actually develop yellow skin or eyes.

Without treatment, chronic infection can gradually damage the liver and eventually lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

There is no vaccine against hepatitis C, but modern antiviral medication can cure more than 95 percent of infections, according to the World Health Organization. Treatment typically lasts eight to 12 weeks.

People concerned about possible exposure can request testing through their general practitioner. Free testing for hepatitis B and C, HIV and syphilis is also available through a network of anonymous testing checkpoints around Czechia.