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Ongoing outbreak of hepatitis A associated with sexual transmission among men who have sex with men, Portugal, October 2023 to April 2024
- Ebba Rosendal1,2,* , Sebastian von Schreeb3,4,5,* , Alexandre Gomes6 , Sara Lino7 , Berta Grau-Pujol3,4,5 , Sara Magalhães7 , Vasco Ricoca Peixoto4 , Carla Roque2 , Joana Moreno5 , Fernando Maltez7 , Fernando Almeida8 , Rita Sá Machado9 , Rui Tato Marinho10 , Paula Vasconcelos4 , Rita de Sousa2,** , João Vieira Martins5,**
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View Affiliations Hide AffiliationsAffiliations: 1 ECDC Fellowship Programme, Public Health Microbiology path (EUPHEM), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden 2 Infectious Diseases Department, National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal 3 ECDC Fellowship Programme, Field Epidemiology path (EPIET), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden 4 Center for Public Health Emergencies, Directorate-General of Health, Lisbon, Portugal 5 Directorate of Information and Analysis, Directorate-General of Health, Lisbon, Portugal 6 National Programmes for Tuberculosis, Viral Hepatitis, STI and HIV, Directorate-General of Health, Lisbon, Portugal 7 Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital de Curry Cabral; Unidade Local de Saúde de São José, Lisbon, Portugal 8 National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal 9 Directorate-General of Health, Lisbon, Portugal 10 Medical School of Lisbon, Universidade de Lisboa; Local Unit of Health Santa Maria; National Programme for Viral Hepatitis, Directorate-General of Health; Lisbon, Portugal * These authors contributed equally to this work and share first authorship. ** These authors contributed equally to this work and share last authorship.Sebastian von Schreebsebastianvonschreeb dgs.min-saude.pt
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Citation style for this article: Rosendal Ebba, von Schreeb Sebastian, Gomes Alexandre, Lino Sara, Grau-Pujol Berta, Magalhães Sara, Ricoca Peixoto Vasco , Roque Carla, Moreno Joana, Maltez Fernando, Almeida Fernando, Sá Machado Rita , Marinho Rui Tato, Vasconcelos Paula, de Sousa Rita, Vieira Martins João . Ongoing outbreak of hepatitis A associated with sexual transmission among men who have sex with men, Portugal, October 2023 to April 2024. Euro Surveill. 2024;29(21):pii=2400272. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.21.2400272 Received: 06 May 2024; Accepted: 23 May 2024
Abstract
An outbreak of hepatitis A is ongoing in Portugal, with 71 confirmed cases from 7 October 2023 to 24 April 2024. Most cases are male, aged 18–44 years, with many identifying as men who have sex with men (MSM) and reported as suspected sexual transmission. Phylogenetic analysis identified the subgenotype IA, VRD 521–2016 strain, last observed in an MSM-associated multi-country outbreak in 2016 to 2018. We wish to alert colleagues in other countries to investigate potential similar spread.
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