After Years on the Decline, Hepatitis C Is Returning — Primarily Among Millennials
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:
For a while, there was a chance that the U.S. might eliminate Hepatitis C. Few new cases were showing up, and most of those infected with the virus were Baby Boomers who had been living with the disease for decades. Hopes really soared when the first medications hit the market that that could eliminate - not just manage - the infection.
Sammy Saab, a hepatologist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, was one of the physicians who thought the U.S. might soon be rid of the liver-targeting disease. That is, until new data rolled in showing that Hepatitis C was far from gone. "This came as a big surprise to everybody," Saab says.
Between 2009 and 2018, the annual rate of acute Hepatitis C cases in the U.S. tripled. In 2018 alone, nearly 138,000 new cases were reported, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Instead of Baby Boomers, individuals between 20 and 39 years of age dominate those case numbers - all of which largely underestimate the true number of Hepatitis C cases in the U.S., as early stages of the disease often lack symptoms. The rise in cases has also pushed the CDC to issue new recommendations that every adult get tested for Hepatitis C at least once in their life, with every pregnant individual getting tested, too.
Though these new case numbers were a surprise, their culprit is clear: "Injection drug use is the primary risk factor for Hepatitis C in the U.S. for new infections," says Rachel Gicquelais, a researcher with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health studying infectious disease and substance abuse. A growing opioid epidemic means more individuals are potentially reusing or borrowing needles, providing the perfect opportunity for a virus that spreads via blood to infect someone new. To reverse the trend, health care providers will administer the same diagnostic tests and medications - but will have to overhaul their approach to reaching these new patients.
Journal Reference
Ryerson AB, Schillie S, Barker LK, et al. Vital Signs: Newly Reported Acute and Chronic Hepatitis C Cases " United States, 2009-2018, MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6914a2)
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