While 73 cases have been identified since the start of the year against only 16 last year, vigilance is maximum. How to explain this resurgence, what symptoms should alert and especially how to protect yourself?
356 % increase in the Rhône, a concentrated cluster in Lyon
Since January 2025, 73 cases of hepatitis A were reported in the Rhône, against only 16 over the same period in 2023 and 2024. This spectacular increase in 356 % worries the health authorities. More, the propagation has been accelerating since July with 57 new cases identified in a few weeks.
The patients are essentially adults under the age of 65, no pediatric case has so far been confirmed. The epicenter of this outbreak is located in Lyon, and particularly in the 7th arrondissementwhere the circulation of the virus is considered very active by the Directorate General of Health. Investigations are still underway to try to understand the causes of this unusual resurgence. Especially since this increase “suggests that the circulation of the virus is currently very active and could increase in the coming weeks“.
Hepatitis, how to recognize symptoms
The hepatitis A virus is mainly transmitted by oro-flexible route. As the DGS-Urgent recalls signed by Professor Didier Lepelletier and Cécile Courrèges, “The virus being present in the faeces of affected people, the disease is transmitted through contaminated hands or foods“.
Often asymptomatic, especially in children, infection can manifest itself by:
- Fever, abdominal pain, nausea, loss of appetite;
- Intense fatigue (asthenia);
- Jaundice (jaundice) linked to the harm of the liver.
In the majority of cases, hepatitis healed spontaneously without sequelae. The serious, rarer forms concern mainly older adults or carrying chronic liver disease.
Tips to avoid infection
Faced with this increase in cases, the DGS and the ARS call for increased vigilance. The disease is compulsory declaration with ARS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The samples must be sent to the national reference center for analyzes in order to better trace the contamination channels.
The most exposed groups are identified: people in precarious situations with limited access to water, men with sexual intercourse with men, oro-anal practices, injectable drug users, but also travelers in endemic areas.
Hepatitis vaccination remains the best protection. It must be proposed:
- To people living under the same roof as a patient (ideally within 14 days of the first symptoms);
- Audiences at risk and exposed professionals;
- Before any departure on a trip to a region where the virus circulates.