Hepatitis C in Poland in 2023.

Abstract

Background: In 2023, new national policies expanded access to direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for people who use drugs and for incarcerated individuals.

Objective: To assess the epidemiological situation of HCV infection in Poland in 2023.

Material and methods: National surveillance data for 2023 were analyzed and compared with 2022 and pre-pandemic trends (2015-2019). Data on deaths were obtained from Statistics Poland.

Results: In 2023, a total of 3,267 confirmed HCV cases were reported in Poland, corresponding to a diagnosis rate of 8.65/100,000 population, representing a 29% increase compared with 2,528 cases in 2022 (6.7/100,000). Despite the overall rise in detection, the proportion of people who inject drugs among diagnosed infections remained stable at 3.2% level. Infections identified in penitentiary facilities accounted for 1.3% diagnosed cases, continuing a declining trend observed in previous years. In 2023, individuals of Polish nationality represented 81.9% of all reported HCV cases (2,677 cases), while people from Ukraine accounted for 4.0% (131/3,267) - an increase from 2.7% in 2022. The majority of hepatitis C cases among individuals originating from Ukraine were classified as imported infections, and the distribution of age groups and gender in this group was similar to that observed in the overall population of HCV diagnoses in 2023.

Conclusions: HCV detection in Poland has improved following the pandemic COVID-19; however, it remains below pre-2020 levels. The removal of abstinence requirements for people who use drugs and the inclusion of DAA therapy for incarcerated individuals represent an important step toward equitable access to HCV treatment, although these changes were not yet reflected in the epidemiological situation in 2023.