Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects the liver and is transmitted primarily by direct exposure to the blood of an infected person. Before HCV screening was introduced in 1992, blood and blood-product transfusions accounted for a large proportion of infections. Today, there are still health care acquired infections, but most infections are associated with injection drug use (IDU). HCV can also be spread during childbirth and through sexual exposure, but both routes of transmission are uncommon. Approximately 5% of HCV positive women transmit the virus to their infant. The percent of HCV infections due to sexual exposure is unknown but believed to be rare and is more likely to occur in men who have sex with men. Approximately 75-95% of newly infected individuals are asymptomatic. As a result, most people with chronic infection are unaware that they have HCV. Although treatment for chronic hepatitis C infections is available, there is no post-exposure prophylaxis regimen to prevent infection.
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Resources for the general public
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Resources for health care providers
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Hepatitis C in King County
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Purpose of surveillance:
- To identify risk factors for infection
- To identify and eliminate sources of transmission
- To provide education to cases in order to minimize risk of transmission and to reduce risk factors for development of chronic liver disease
- To monitor the prevalence of disease and associated disease burden in the community
- To identify epidemiological features of hepatitis C to guide prevention activities and HCV-related services
Local epidemiology:
In 2012, 1,317 chronic HCV cases and 4 acute cases of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were reported in King County. Acute infections typically account for less than 1% of all HCV reports each year in King County. Between six and 12 reports of acute HCV infection are received annually, compared to 1,000 - 2,000 reports of chronic HCV.
Each year in Washington state there are 5,000 to 6,000 cases of chronic HCV reported.
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