Cases of hepatitis C in the United States have nearly tripled within a five-year period, reaching a new 15-year high of around 34,000 new hepatitis C infections in 2015, federal health officials reported. Experts attribute the higher rates to more injection drug use during the ongoing opioid epidemic.
The new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that cases of the disease rose substantially, from 850 new cases in 2010 to 2,436 cases in 2015. However, because most people with hepatitis C do not know they have the disease and most new infections go undiagnosed, the CDC estimates there were actually 34,000 new infections in 2015.
Hepatitis C testing and treatment is changing. Today, chronic HCV is usually curable with oral medications taken every day for two to six months. The largest group at risk includes everyone born between 1945 and 1965 — a population five times more likely to be infected than those born in other years; with the greatest number of new infections among young people from ages 20 to 29.
The new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that cases of the disease rose substantially, from 850 new cases in 2010 to 2,436 cases in 2015. However, because most people with hepatitis C do not know they have the disease and most new infections go undiagnosed, the CDC estimates there were actually 34,000 new infections in 2015.
Hepatitis C testing and treatment is changing. Today, chronic HCV is usually curable with oral medications taken every day for two to six months. The largest group at risk includes everyone born between 1945 and 1965 — a population five times more likely to be infected than those born in other years; with the greatest number of new infections among young people from ages 20 to 29.
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