Table 3.2. Number and rates* of reported cases† of acute hepatitis C, by demographic characteristics — United States 2015–2019

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◀ Table 3.1
Table 3.3 ▶
Table 3.2. Number and rates* of reported cases† of acute hepatitis C, by demographic characteristics — United States 2015–2019
Table 2.2.
Characteristics 2015 No. 2015 Rate* 2016 No. 2016 Rate* 2017 No. 2017 Rate* 2018 No. 2018 Rate* 2019 No. 2019 Rate*
Total § 2,436 0.8 2,967 1.0 3,216 1.0 3,621 1.2 4,136 1.3
Age  (yrs)
0-19 99 0.1 86 0.1 103 0.1 81 0.1 63 0.1
20-29 999 2.4 1,135 2.7 1,189 2.7 1,310 3.0 1,262 2.9
30-39 682 1.7 868 2.2 937 2.3 1,070 2.6 1,347 3.2
40-49 337 0.9 452 1.2 441 1.1 494 1.3 664 1.7
50-59 240 0.6 264 0.6 332 0.8 366 0.9 442 1.1
≥60 77 0.1 141 0.2 185 0.3 295 0.4 358 0.5
Sex
Male 1,334 0.9 1,627 1.1 1,775 1.2 2,012 1.3 2,471 1.6
Female 1,093 0.7 1,310 0.8 1,431 0.9 1,605 1.0 1,653 1.0
Race/ethnicity
American Indian/Alaska Native 39 1.8 70 3.1 67 2.9 83 3.6 83 3.6
Asian/Pacific Islander 16 0.1 25 0.1 23 0.1 29 0.1 36 0.2
Black, non-Hispanic 112 0.3 130 0.3 202 0.5 231 0.6 267 0.7
White, non-Hispanic 1,724 0.9 2,109 1.1 2,227 1.2 2,405 1.3 2,683 1.4
Hispanic 148 0.3 191 0.3 234 0.4 280 0.5 350 0.6
Urbanicity ¶
Urban 1,812 0.7 2,227 0.8 2,397 0.9 2,782 1.0 3,275 1.2
Rural 545 1.3 501 1.2 485 1.1 676 1.6 720 1.7
HHS Region: Regional Office #
Region 1: Boston 280 3.2 471 3.8 391 2.8 172 1.2 237 1.7
Region 2: New York 251 0.9 301 1.0 313 1.1 332 1.2 405 1.4
Region 3: Philadelphia 286 1.0 422 1.4 424 1.4 404 1.4 392 1.3
Region 4: Atlanta 721 1.2 706 1.1 826 1.3 1,056 1.7 1,253 2.0
Region 5: Chicago 475 0.9 615 1.2 692 1.3 977 1.9 1,053 2.0
Region 6: Dallas 149 0.4 95 0.2 105 0.2 114 0.3 157 0.4
Region 7: Kansas City 38 0.3 41 0.4 70 0.6 89 0.8 74 0.5
Region 8: Denver 85 0.8 152 1.4 162 1.4 225 1.9 222 1.9
Region 9: San Francisco 71 0.2 76 0.2 138 0.3 133 0.3 222 0.5
Region 10: Seattle 80 0.6 88 0.7 95 0.7 119 0.9 121 0.9
Source: CDC, National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
* Rates per 100,000 population.
† Reported cases that met the classification criteria for a confirmed case. For the case definition, see https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/hepatitis-c-acute/.
§ Numbers reported in each category might not add up to the total number of reported cases in a year because of cases with missing data or, in the case of race/ethnicity, cases categorized as “Other.”
¶ Urbanicity was categorized according to the 2013 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) urban-rural classification scheme for counties and county-equivalent entities (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/urban_rural.htm). Large central metropolitan, large fringe metropolitan, medium metropolitan, and small metropolitan counties were grouped as urban. Micropolitan and noncore counties were grouped as rural.
# US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regions were categorized according to the grouping of states and US territories assigned under each of the 10 HHS regional offices (https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/iea/regional-offices/index.html). For the purposes of this report, regions with US territories (Regions 2 and 9) contain data from states only.

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This table summarizes the epidemiology of acute hepatitis C in the United States. During 2019, rates of acute hepatitis C were highest among persons aged 20–49 years, males, American Indian/Alaska Native persons, and those living in the US Department of Health and Human Services Regions 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee) and 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin). The geographic distribution of hepatitis C is similar to the geographic distribution of fatal overdose. By using urbanicity categories defined by the National Center of Health Statistics, CDC determined that the rates of acute hepatitis C remained higher in rural settings, compared with urban settings during 2015–2019, continuing a trend of increasing rates of hepatitis C disproportionately affecting White persons aged <30 years in nonurban areas of the United States. Among all acute hepatitis C cases reported during 2019, 79% occurred among persons aged 20–49 years; 65% occurred among non-Hispanic White persons; 79% occurred in urban areas; and 56% occurred in Health and Human Services Regions 4 and 5.

Source:
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.
Suryaprasad, AG, White JZ, Xu F, et al. Emerging epidemic of hepatitis C virus infections among young nonurban persons who inject drugs in the United States, 2006–2012. Clin Infect Dis 2014;59:1411–9. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciu643.

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