CDC Reports Record High Hepatitis C Deaths in 2014
- Surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that deaths associated with hepatitis C reached an all-time high of 19,659 in 2014.
- A separate CDC study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases revealed that hepatitis C-related mortality in 2013 exceeded the combined total of deaths from 60 other infectious diseases reported...
- The highest burden of hepatitis C is found among baby boomers, defined as individuals born between 1945 and 1965.
Surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that deaths associated with hepatitis C reached an all-time high of 19,659 in 2014.
A separate CDC study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases revealed that hepatitis C-related mortality in 2013 exceeded the combined total of deaths from 60 other infectious diseases reported to the CDC, including tuberculosis, pneumococcal disease, and HIV.
Impact on Baby Boomers
The highest burden of hepatitis C is found among baby boomers, defined as individuals born between 1945 and 1965. Many people in this demographic have lived with the infection for years without knowing they were infected.
Research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases suggests that many baby boomers were infected during medical procedures in the years following World War II. This occurred during a period when blood transfusion and injection technologies lacked the safety standards present today.
Without diagnosis and treatment, these individuals are at an increased risk of developing other life-threatening hepatitis C-related diseases, including liver cancer. Those unaware of their status may unknowingly transmit the virus to others.
Surveillance and Reporting Challenges
The CDC collects viral hepatitis case reports through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). These reports are sent electronically from territorial and state health departments via the National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance (NETSS) on a weekly basis.
Despite the existing infrastructure, reporting for chronic infections has been inconsistent. In 2014, 37 states submitted reports of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and 40 states submitted reports of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections.
The CDC notes that reported cases represent individuals who were diagnosed based on stringent case definitions. Because many viral hepatitis infections are asymptomatic, not all cases are identified or reported.
To address under-reporting and under-ascertainment, the CDC developed an estimation method in 2011 to better quantify new cases of hepatitis A, B, and C. Data estimates prior to 2011 used a different, unpublished methodology and are not comparable to estimates from 2011 onward.
Public Health Perspective
The CDC has emphasized the urgency of increasing testing and treatment for hepatitis C, particularly for the baby boomer generation.
Jonathan Mermin, M.D., director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Why are so many Americans dying of this preventable, curable disease?
Dr. Mermin stated that once testing and treatment for hepatitis C become as routine as screenings for colon cancer and high cholesterol, individuals will be able to live longer, healthier lives.
The CDC also cautioned that the mortality figures may be an undercount. Because the studies relied on death certificates, which often underreport hepatitis C, there were likely more deaths than the recorded figures suggest.