Rates* of reported cases of acute hepatitis C virus infection, by age group — United States, 2005-2020

Rates* of reported cases† of acute hepatitis C virus infection, by age group — United States, 2005-2020

Downloads of this figure: PDF  PPT

Source: CDC, National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

* Rates per 100,000 population.

† Reported confirmed cases. For the case definition, see Acute Hepatitis C.

Since 2010, rates of reported cases of acute hepatitis C consistently increased among all age groups of ≥20 years, with the exception of a decrease during 2018-2020 among persons 20-29 years old (from 3.0 to 2.8 per 100,000 population). In 2020, the rate of reported cases of acute hepatitis C has remained the highest among persons aged 20–39 years, similar to age groups at highest risk for fatal overdose in the United States and age at initiation of injection drug use among certain US populations.

Compared with 2019, the greatest increase in the rates of acute hepatitis C in 2020 were observed among those aged ≥ 60 years (60% increase), followed by those aged 50–59 years (27% increase). The rate of acute hepatitis C decreased slightly for a second year in a row among those aged 20–29 years. Rates have consistently been lowest among those aged <20 years or ≥60 years; however, rates have been increasing among those aged ≥60 years since 2015.

Hepatitis C Figures and Tables

Source:

  1. Jalal H, Buchanich JM, Sinclair DR, et al. Age and generational patterns of overdose death risk from opioids and other drugs. Nat Med 2020;26:699–704. doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0855-y .