Other hepatitis
Version: November 2025
Introduction
Other hepatitis refers to types of hepatitis not classified under the common hepatitis A, B, C, D, or E viruses. These can include hepatitis caused by non-viral factors such as alcohol consumption, certain medications, autoimmune disorders, or other infections. Alcoholic hepatitis arises from excessive alcohol intake leading to liver inflammation. Autoimmune hepatitis occurs when the body’s immune system attacks liver cells. Additionally, drug-induced hepatitis can result from adverse reactions to medications damaging the liver. Though not as prevalent as viral hepatitis, these types require prompt diagnosis and management to prevent severe liver damage and associated health complications.
Highlights
- Overall Decline in Cases: Since 2015, other hepatitis cases have consistently dropped, from a peak of over 2200 cases to under 600 cases per month in late 2025.
- Low Mortality Rate: Despite fluctuating numbers, deaths have remained minimal, averaging less than one death per month, indicating effective disease management and healthcare responses.
- Potential Stabilization: The data from 2023 onwards shows stabilized case numbers around 600-700 per month, suggesting better control measures and public health efforts.
- Current Trends: As of November 2025, there is a slight decrease in cases compared to previous months, reflecting ongoing efforts to address hepatitis transmission and manage outbreaks efficiently.
Analysis
Cases Analysis
The data on Other hepatitis cases in China’s mainland from November 2015 to November 2025 reveals several trends and patterns worth discussing. Initially, from 2015 to 2017, there were higher case numbers with monthly counts ranging between approximately 1,500 to 2,500. During this period, deaths were rare, occurring sporadically with a handful of instances. As the timeline progresses, particularly from mid-2018 onwards, the number of reported cases began to decline noticeably. This trend of decreasing cases persisted into the following years, suggesting a broader success in managing or mitigating the incidence of Other hepatitis within the region.
By 2020, amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, case numbers reached a substantially lower threshold than in previous years, indicating a possible impact of pandemic-related interventions, which might have indirectly influenced hepatitis transmission rates or reporting practices. However, it is noteworthy that the data illustrates a slight increase in deaths starting from 2016, despite no concurrent rise in cases. While the total death count remains low, this increase may necessitate further analysis in understanding underlying factors such as changes in disease severity, healthcare accessibility, or demographic shifts. Throughout the latter half of the dataset, the case numbers remain much lower than at the onset, as we see figures below 800 cases monthly, with sporadic deaths, showcasing what might be the result of effective public health policies or advancements in medical treatment and prevention methods.
Deaths Analysis
Over the period in which data is available for other hepatitis cases in mainland China, there appears to be an overall declining trend in reported cases. The peak of reported cases was in March 2016, with 2,489 cases, which gradually decreased to a low of 438 cases in October 2024. Despite fluctuations, particularly a notable drop following 2019, this general declining trend could be indicative of public health interventions, changing reporting practices, or other epidemiological factors impacting transmission rates.
The data suggests that deaths attributed to other hepatitis have been sporadic and infrequent, with most months recording zero deaths, particularly in the later stages of the dataset. There are occasional reports of one or two deaths in months such as June 2016, December 2017, and others scattered intermittently across different years. Although there is no significant pattern of increasing or decreasing mortality related to case numbers, the minor occurrence and erratic pattern of deaths signal that the lethality associated with other hepatitis remains relatively low. This could be due to effective management of the condition, potentially high survival rates, or the nature of the specific hepatitis strains included under ‘other hepatitis’. Thus, while further detailed clinical and epidemiological data would be essential to draw definitive conclusions, the observable trends point towards an effective containment and treatment landscape for other hepatitis in mainland China.