Occupational diseases fell by 35.8% year-on-year in 2025, totaling 3,329 cases, with COVID-19 remaining the most common, recognised as an occupational disease in nearly 2,500 people, the National Institute of Public Health (SZU) announced today.
Nevertheless, the numbers of COVID-19 cases are gradually declining, down by roughly 40% year-on-year.
Conversely, other diseases have increased. The next most common are overuse injuries (215) among assembly workers and operators, and there has been an increase in lumbar spine disorders.
Most of the COVID-19 cases recorded last year originated from previous years and were reported to the system retroactively.
“In 2025, a total of 3,396 occupational diseases were diagnosed in 2,909 people in the Czech Republic, of which 3,329 were occupational diseases and 67 were cases of risk of occupational disease,” said Vladimira Lipsova, head of the Centre for Occupational Hygiene and Occupational Medicine and head of the National Reference Laboratory for Occupational Physiology and Psychophysiology.
Historically, several hundred cases of occupational diseases were recognised every year in the Czech Republic, but the situation changed significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the cases of this disease recorded last year date back to the previous five years. Only two new cases were added last year, wrote SZU. Similarly, additional cases from last year may still appear in the statistics this year.
Lipsova expects that the change in rules for recognising COVID-19 as an occupational disease, effective since last November, will have a significant impact. “Going forward, only cases with moderate or severe symptoms or complications will be recognised,” she added.
When approving the change, the Health Ministry cited the heavy workload of assessing physicians and economic impacts. It said the previous situation was unsustainable in the long term. Insurance companies pay high amounts for recognised occupational diseases, and occupational disease centres lack the capacity for the administratively demanding assessment and verification of claims.
While there were roughly 600 cases of occupational diseases in 2024, not including COVID-19, there were 908 last year. Cases caused by vibrations increased by half (151), skin diseases by a fifth (81), and respiratory diseases more than doubled (212).
According to SZU, this is influenced by the situation in the Moravia-Silesia Region, where doctors are reporting more cases of diseases caused by long-term inhalation of air containing inorganic particles among mining workers. “This may be related in particular to the decline of coal mining and more intensive health monitoring of workers prior to the end of their employment,” stated SZU.
Among diseases transmitted from person to person, cases of scabies, whooping cough and tuberculosis were also recorded. Among overuse injuries, the most common were carpal tunnel syndrome, tendon and muscle attachment disorders and joint disorders. There was also an increase in newly recognised chronic lumbar spine strain – doctors recognised one case in 2024 and six in 2025.
