Abstract
In 2019, an estimated 14 million persons in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region* (EUR) were chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), and approximately 43,000 of these persons died from complications of chronic HBV infection (1). In 2016, the WHO Regional Office for Europe set hepatitis B control program targets for 2020, including 1) ≥90% coverage with 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine (HepB3), 2) ≥90% coverage with interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HBV,(†) and 3) ≤0.5% prevalence of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg)(§) in age groups eligible for vaccination with hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) (2-4). This report describes the progress made toward hepatitis B control in EUR during 2016-2019. By December 2019, 50 (94%) of 53 countries in EUR provided routine vaccination with HepB to all infants or children aged 1-12 years (universal HepB), including 23 (43%) countries that offered hepatitis B birth dose (HepB-BD) to all newborns. In addition, 35 (73%) of the 48 countries with universal infant HepB vaccination reached ≥90% HepB3 coverage annually during 2017-2019, and 19 (83%) of the 23 countries with universal birth dose administration achieved ≥90% timely HepB-BD coverage(¶) annually during that period. Antenatal hepatitis B screening coverage was ≥90% in 17 (57%) of 30 countries that selectively provided HepB-BD to infants born to mothers with positive HBsAg test results. In January 2020, Italy and the Netherlands became the first counties in EUR to be validated to have achieved the regional hepatitis B control targets. Countries can accelerate progress toward hepatitis B control by improving coverage with HepB and interventions to prevent MTCT and documenting achievement of the HBsAg seroprevalence target through representative serosurveys or, in low-endemicity countries, antenatal screening.