Expert Explains Child Hepatitis Risks and Vaccines on World Hepatitis Day

On World Hepatitis Day (July 28), infectious‑disease professor Nicola Coppola explained that viral hepatitis is rare in children thanks to routine vaccinations, but it remains a public‑health concern. In Italy, the hepatitis B and hepatitis D vaccination program for newborns, in place since 1991, has rendered the pediatric population largely immune to those viruses. Hepatitis A is the only liver‑affecting virus that still poses a risk to Italian children, typically transmitted through raw seafood or travel to high‑endemic regions, and an effective vaccine is available.

The WHO highlighted a surge of acute hepatitis of unknown origin among European children in 2022, reporting 572 cases—most from England—some of which were linked to adenoviruses or SARS‑CoV‑2. The cases undersced the need for continued surveillance and vaccination efforts.