Hepatitis C Facts & Statistics
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that three percent of the world's population is infected with Hepatitis C.
Most experts estimate that over four million people in the U.S. have Hepatitis C.
It is the most common blood-borne infection in the U.S.
In the U.S., Hepatitis C is at least four times more prevalent than HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis C now kills more people than AIDS,
but because Hepatitis C often has few symptoms until it has done great damage to the liver, it has not received enough attention and funding.
Over 25 percent of people in the U.S. with HIV/AIDS also have Hepatitis C.
Seventy-five percent of people in the U.S. with Hepatitis C are unaware of their condition.
The frequent lack of symptoms, along with low public awareness (even among many doctors), make Hepatitis C an underdiagnosed disease. A Hepatitis C test IS NOT part of a routine physical exam or routine blood work, you must ask to be tested.
One in every 33 Baby Boomers is infected with Hepatitis C, and Baby Boomers make up two thirds of current Hepatitis C cases,
but a new wave of Hepatitis C cases is rising due to drugs use, unsanitary body piercing and tattooing, and unsafe sexual practices.
The Hepatitis C virus is transmitted through direct blood-to-blood contact.
People most at risk are those who: have injected illegal drugs (even just once); 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.
Hepatitis C is 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 the 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.
Nationally, without increased diagnosis and improved treatment, the cost of care for Hepatitis C and its disease outcomes will almost triple over the next 20 years, from $30 billion per year to $85 billion per year.
Hepatitis C CAN BE CURED and more effective drugs to treat and eliminate the virus are NOW available.
These treatment regimens promise to eliminate the Hepatitis C virus in 90-100 percent of patients.
But these powerful treatments will only be effective if more people are screened, diagnosed, and provided with effective care and supportive services.
Many statistics are from the Institute of Medicine's 2010 report, Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: A National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Hepatitis B and C. Some statistics are from the WHO, CDC, National Institutes of Health (NIH), United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), and a 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 over four million people in the U.S. have Hepatitis C.
It is the most common blood-borne infection in the U.S.
In the U.S., Hepatitis C is at least four times more prevalent than HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis C now kills more people than AIDS,
but because Hepatitis C often has few symptoms until it has done great damage to the liver, it has not received enough attention and funding.
Over 25 percent of people in the U.S. with HIV/AIDS also have Hepatitis C.
Seventy-five percent of people in the U.S. with Hepatitis C are unaware of their condition.
The frequent lack of symptoms, along with low public awareness (even among many doctors), make Hepatitis C an underdiagnosed disease. A Hepatitis C test IS NOT part of a routine physical exam or routine blood work, you must ask to be tested.
One in every 33 Baby Boomers is infected with Hepatitis C, and Baby Boomers make up two thirds of current Hepatitis C cases,
but a new wave of Hepatitis C cases is rising due to drugs use, unsanitary body piercing and tattooing, and unsafe sexual practices.
The Hepatitis C virus is transmitted through direct blood-to-blood contact.
People most at risk are those who: have injected illegal drugs (even just once); 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.
Hepatitis C is 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 the 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.
Nationally, without increased diagnosis and improved treatment, the cost of care for Hepatitis C and its disease outcomes will almost triple over the next 20 years, from $30 billion per year to $85 billion per year.
Hepatitis C CAN BE CURED and more effective drugs to treat and eliminate the virus are NOW available.
These treatment regimens promise to eliminate the Hepatitis C virus in 90-100 percent of patients.
But these powerful treatments will only be effective if more people are screened, diagnosed, and provided with effective care and supportive services.
Many statistics are from the Institute of Medicine's 2010 report, Hepatitis and Liver Cancer: A National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Hepatitis B and C. Some statistics are from the WHO, CDC, National Institutes of Health (NIH), United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), and a 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.