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CDC New Increasing HCV Cases 2019-2020 Rates by State
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https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/statistics/2020surveillance/hepatitis-c/figure-3.2.htm
During 2020, the rates of reported acute hepatitis C ranged from a high of 11.9 cases per 100,000 population in Maine to a low of ≤0.1 cases per 100,000 population in California, Idaho, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Texas. The largest absolute increase in rates was observed in Maine, with a rate during 2020 (11.6 cases per 100,000 population) more than 3 times the rate reported during 2019 (3.2 cases per 100,000 population).
In contrast, the largest absolute decrease was observed in South Dakota, where the rate decreased 75% during 2020 (0.8 cases per 100,000 population), compared with 2019 (3.2 cases per 100,000 population). Because of the relatively smaller number of acute hepatitis C cases reported in certain jurisdictions, wide fluctuations in annual rates might occur.
Maine officials say their high testing rates are a reason for high new cases rates.
About 95% of people with hepatitis C can be cured with two to 2-3 of well-tolerated oral-only direct acting antiviral (DAA) agents. CDC data show, however, that from 2014 to 2020, an average of 171,000 people were treated with DAAs in the U.S. each year - far short of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's estimate that at least 260,000 people should be treated annually to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030. Additionally, the number of people with hepatitis C in the U.S. who initiated treatment with DAAs declined from 2015 to 2020.
The number of acute hepatitis C cases reported in the United States increased every year during 2013-2020. During 2020, a total of 4,798 acute cases were reported, corresponding to 66,700 estimated infections after adjusting for case underascertainment and underreporting. The number of cases reported during 2020 corresponded to a 16% increase from the 4,136 cases reported during 2019, and a 124% increase from the 2,138 cases reported during 2013.
While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare access and reduced the number of persons tested for hepatitis C virus infection, the anticipated reductions in the number of reported acute hepatitis C cases was likely offset by a change to the acute hepatitis C case definition in 2020. The new case definition was designed to better characterize cases classified as acute hepatitis C (see Technical Notes/Case Definitions).
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