Hepatitis and Injection Drug Use in Denmark

"Despite minor fluctuations, there seems to have been a decline in the number of registered acute hepatitis cases in the Danish population as a whole over recent years (Table 6.2.2 of the Annex). During the period, the share of acute hepatitis cases, where the infected person has been an intravenous drug abuser, has been under our around 1% for hepatitis A, varied between 0 and 32% for acute hepatitis B and between 0 to 85% for acute hepatitis C. However, the proportion of persons reported with chronic hepatitis C resulting from intravenous drug abuse is relatively stable at 67-75%. The number of reported cases of acute hepatitis B and C is low in Denmark. Therefore, the major fluctuations in the proportion attributable to intravenous drug abuse should be read with caution. Since hepatitis C is often asymptomatic in the acute phase, the reported cases are most likely underestimated."