HEPATITIS C FACTS & STATISTICS
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 50 million people are living with chronic hepatitis C infection worldwide and that 1.0 million new infections occur every year.
Most experts estimate that between 2.4 and four million people in the U.S. have Hepatitis C.
It is the most common blood-borne virus in the U.S.
Hepatitis C Testing Recommendations
CDC now recommends one-time hepatitis C testing of all adults (18 years and older) and all pregnant people during every pregnancy and testing children 2 - 6 months if they were exposed to hepatitis C. CDC continues to recommend people with risk factors, including people who inject drugs, be tested regularly.
Vertical transmission during child birth is the most common cause of HCV in children.
Children can be treated as early as 3 years of age.
Over 25 percent of people in the U.S. with HIV/AIDS also have Hepatitis C.
Men who have sex with men (MSM), both with HIV and without HIV, continue to have high rates of HCV transmission.
Injection Drug Use and Hepatitis C
According to the CDC, injection drug use now accounts for at least 60 percent of HCV transmission in the United States.
According to CDC, new data show that chronic hepatitis C infection affects every generation
Studies show that the number of millennials (people born 1981–1996) diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C infection in 2018 was equal to the number of baby boomers (people born 1945–1965) diagnosed that year.
The Hepatitis C virus is transmitted through direct blood-to-blood contact.
People most at risk are those who: have injected drugs; had transfusions, organ transplants, or hemodialysis before 1992; received clotting factors before 1989; are healthcare workers with needle stick or related exposure.
Sexual practices that may involve injury, and even a trace amount of blood, can also transmit the virus. Other exposures, such as household contact (e.g. sharing razors or toothbrushes), unsanitary body piercing or tattooing, or lax medical practices, are possible but much less common routes of transmission.
If you are living with or were ever living with hepatitis C, you are still unable to donate blood.
Hepatitis C is one of the leading cause of death from liver disease in the U.S.
It accounts for an estimated one third of cases of primary liver cancer, and is the leading cause of end stage liver disease in the U.S. The incidence of these life-threatening conditions is increasing rapidly and will continue to increase as undiagnosed and untreated Hepatitis C patients age.
Hepatitis C is a leading cause of liver transplants in the U.S.
The need for liver transplants is increasing and is expected to continue to increase steadily for the next two decades unless increased screening and diagnosis and improved treatment for Hepatitis C are implemented. The average cost of a liver transplant in the U.S. is over $523,000.
Hepatitis C positive organs can be safely transplanted to people with or without hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C CAN BE CURED: Effective drugs to treat and eliminate the virus are available.
Treatment for hepatitis C today is with direct acting antivirals (DAAs) that stop the virus from multiplying in the liver. These are oral pills that are taken for 8-12 weeks at various doses to cure hepatitis C.
The FDA just granted marketing authorization to the very first point-of-care hepatitis C RNA test which would have the ability to provide results in an hour using a small blood sample. Learn more at https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-permits-marketing-first-point-care-hepatitis-c-rna-test.
But these powerful treatments will only be effective if more people are screened, diagnosed, and provided with effective care and supportive services.
The information on this page was last Updated Jan 2025
Resources:
CDC Hepatitis C Facts Sheet April 2024, WHO Global hepatitis report 2024, AASLD HCV Guidance Website [updated October 24,2022], National Institutes of Health (NIH) March 2020, The Institute of Medicine's 2010 report, Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: A National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Hepatitis B and C, United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), 2010 report by The Trust for American Health and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (TFAH/AASLD), HBV and HCV: America's Hidden Epidemics.
Most experts estimate that between 2.4 and four million people in the U.S. have Hepatitis C.
It is the most common blood-borne virus in the U.S.
Hepatitis C Testing Recommendations
CDC now recommends one-time hepatitis C testing of all adults (18 years and older) and all pregnant people during every pregnancy and testing children 2 - 6 months if they were exposed to hepatitis C. CDC continues to recommend people with risk factors, including people who inject drugs, be tested regularly.
Vertical transmission during child birth is the most common cause of HCV in children.
Children can be treated as early as 3 years of age.
Over 25 percent of people in the U.S. with HIV/AIDS also have Hepatitis C.
Men who have sex with men (MSM), both with HIV and without HIV, continue to have high rates of HCV transmission.
Injection Drug Use and Hepatitis C
According to the CDC, injection drug use now accounts for at least 60 percent of HCV transmission in the United States.
According to CDC, new data show that chronic hepatitis C infection affects every generation
Studies show that the number of millennials (people born 1981–1996) diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C infection in 2018 was equal to the number of baby boomers (people born 1945–1965) diagnosed that year.
The Hepatitis C virus is transmitted through direct blood-to-blood contact.
People most at risk are those who: have injected drugs; had transfusions, organ transplants, or hemodialysis before 1992; received clotting factors before 1989; are healthcare workers with needle stick or related exposure.
Sexual practices that may involve injury, and even a trace amount of blood, can also transmit the virus. Other exposures, such as household contact (e.g. sharing razors or toothbrushes), unsanitary body piercing or tattooing, or lax medical practices, are possible but much less common routes of transmission.
If you are living with or were ever living with hepatitis C, you are still unable to donate blood.
Hepatitis C is one of the leading cause of death from liver disease in the U.S.
It accounts for an estimated one third of cases of primary liver cancer, and is the leading cause of end stage liver disease in the U.S. The incidence of these life-threatening conditions is increasing rapidly and will continue to increase as undiagnosed and untreated Hepatitis C patients age.
Hepatitis C is a leading cause of liver transplants in the U.S.
The need for liver transplants is increasing and is expected to continue to increase steadily for the next two decades unless increased screening and diagnosis and improved treatment for Hepatitis C are implemented. The average cost of a liver transplant in the U.S. is over $523,000.
Hepatitis C positive organs can be safely transplanted to people with or without hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C CAN BE CURED: Effective drugs to treat and eliminate the virus are available.
Treatment for hepatitis C today is with direct acting antivirals (DAAs) that stop the virus from multiplying in the liver. These are oral pills that are taken for 8-12 weeks at various doses to cure hepatitis C.
The FDA just granted marketing authorization to the very first point-of-care hepatitis C RNA test which would have the ability to provide results in an hour using a small blood sample. Learn more at https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-permits-marketing-first-point-care-hepatitis-c-rna-test.
But these powerful treatments will only be effective if more people are screened, diagnosed, and provided with effective care and supportive services.
The information on this page was last Updated Jan 2025
Resources:
CDC Hepatitis C Facts Sheet April 2024, WHO Global hepatitis report 2024, AASLD HCV Guidance Website [updated October 24,2022], National Institutes of Health (NIH) March 2020, The Institute of Medicine's 2010 report, Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: A National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Hepatitis B and C, United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), 2010 report by The Trust for American Health and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (TFAH/AASLD), HBV and HCV: America's Hidden Epidemics.