Luxembourg Leads First EU Exchange to Accelerate Hepatitis B and C Elimination in Prisons

• Department of Infection and Immunity
• Infection and Immunotherapy Reseach Group

The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have jointly produced a European toolkit for the elimination of viral hepatitis in prisons.

The new toolkit is designed to support the implementation of hepatitis B and C interventions in prisons across Europe. It also reinforces the principle of ‘equivalence of care’, ensuring that people in prison receive healthcare comparable to that available in the community.

The ECDC and EUDA have organized a series of country-country exchange visits to identify key priorities and actions to implement the toolkit. As Luxembourg was recently described as the best example of models of hepatitis care, it was selected as the first country to hos this kind of practical exchange on the 10^th and 11^th of February 2026.

Twelve health professionals from prison settings or from the Ministries of Justice of 4 different countries (Germany, Belgium, Austria and Denmark) were welcomed by the Directorate of Health and Schrassig prison for practical exchanges on the Luxembourg model and in-depth and direct dialog on the experiences of the five countries.

Dr Carole Devaux from the Infection & Immunotherapy Research Unit at the LIH organized the visit in collaboration with Dr Philippe Poos from the prison health services and Dr Pit Braquet from the National Service of Infectious Diseases. A roundtable discussion focused on the challenges and good practices upon prison release gathered more than 20 representatives from eleven organizations in Luxembourg.

The raison d’être for the toolkit is that people in prison experience higher levels of viral hepatitis than the general population, making them a key group for targeted prevention and treatment. In Europe, individuals entering prison are also more likely to have a history of injecting drug use — a major risk factor for hepatitis B and C virus transmission. The sharing of injection equipment and other risk factors , such as unsafe tattooing or body piercing practices, the sharing of razors and unprotected sex, make prisons a priority setting for targeted viral hepatitis prevention and treatment interventions. Tackling viral hepatitis in prison settings can also deliver health benefits to the wider community by driving down the overall disease burden and preventing the future transmission of infections.