Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged citizens to avoid all travel to the Czech Republic amid the country’s worst hepatitis A epidemic in nearly half a century. The warning follows a surge in infections that has already reached more than four times last year’s total.
According to the Czech State Institute of Public Health, 2,597 cases have been recorded since January, compared with just 636 in all of 2024. By Wednesday, iDNES reported that the number had climbed to 2,640, confirming that this year’s epidemic is the largest in 46 years.
The virus is spreading across all age groups, though people aged 30 to 45 and children aged five to nine are most commonly affected. Prague remains the epicenter, with 1,108 confirmed cases, followed by the Central Bohemia region with 418. Hospitals have admitted most of those infected, but at least 322 patients could not be hospitalized due to a shortage of beds.
Since the start of the year, 29 people have died, mostly men with pre-existing health problems such as chronic liver disease, alcoholism, or drug addiction. Doctors say infections in the capital have now moved well beyond traditional risk groups and are circulating widely in the general population.
As reported by the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Poland’s foreign ministry has warned travelers to exercise strict hygiene, avoid food from unknown sources, drink only bottled water, and ideally postpone any travel to the Czech Republic until conditions improve. Officials say the scale of the outbreak and the pressure on Czech hospitals justify the unusually strong advice.
The outbreak has triggered a national scramble for vaccines. Many clinics report that they have completely run out of standard hepatitis A vaccines, with only limited supplies of combined hepatitis A and B vaccines remaining. These combined doses are more expensive and take longer to provide effective protection.
Some patients, including those preparing for medical procedures, say they have been told they may have to wait until early next year. Several general practices and hospitals confirm vaccine shortages, noting they are reserving remaining doses for those directed to be vaccinated by health authorities.
The Ministry of Health says it has secured emergency shipments from abroad, with more than 30,000 doses arriving this week and a further 65,000 expected in the coming weeks.
Demand for antibody testing has also risen sharply. SYNLAB laboratories told iDNES it had tested more than 24,500 blood samples this year, a 37 percent increase on last year and 63 percent more than in 2023. Around one-third of those tested show long-term immunity, mostly older adults, while children under 10 have the lowest rates of protective antibodies.
The epidemic, which first appeared in the Ostrava region last April, has since spread nationwide. Schools and workplaces have imposed quarantines, and some hospitals have temporarily reduced canteen services as catering staff have been placed under isolation.
