• Ian T Williams, Beth P Bell, Wendi Kuhnert, and Miriam J Alter.
• Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. IWilliams@cdc.gov
• Arch Intern Med. 2011 Feb 14; 171 (3): 242-8.

BackgroundMonitoring disease incidence and transmission patterns is important to characterize groups at risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Clinical cases generally represent about 20% to 30% of all newly acquired infections.MethodsWe used sentinel surveillance to determine incidence and transmission patterns for acute hepatitis C in the United States using data from 25 years of population-based surveillance in the general community. Acute cases of hepatitis C were identified from 1982 through 2006 by a stimulated passive surveillance system in 4 to 6 US counties. Cases were defined by a discrete onset of symptoms, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels greater than 2.5 times the upper limit of normal (×ULN), negative findings for serologic markers for acute hepatitis A and B, and positive findings for antibody to HCV or HCV RNA. Incidence and frequency of reported risk factors were the main outcome measures.ResultsOf 2075 patients identified, the median age was 31 years, 91.5% had ALT values greater than 7×ULN, 77.3% were jaundiced, 22.5% were hospitalized, and 1.2% died. Incidence averaged 7.4 per 100,000 individuals (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.4-8.5 per 100,000) during 1982 to 1989 then declined averaging 0.7 per 100,000 (95% CI, 0.5-1.0 per 100,000) during 1994 to 2006. Among 1748 patients interviewed (84.2%), injection drug use (IDU) was the most commonly reported risk factor. The average number of IDU-related cases declined paralleling the decline in incidence, but the proportion of IDU-related cases rose from 31.8% (402 of 1266) during 1982 to 1989 to 45.6% (103 of 226) during 1994 to 2006. Among IDU-related cases reported during 1994 to 2006, 56 of 61 individuals (91.8%) had been in a drug treatment program and/or incarcerated.ConclusionsThe incidence of acute HCV declined substantially over the 25 years of population-based surveillance. Despite declines, IDU is the most common risk factor for new HCV infection.©2011 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

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