Viral Hepatitis in the U.S.: CDC’s 2019 Awareness Month Note

May is Hepatitis Awareness Month, and May 19 is Hepatitis Testing Day. For the 2019 observance, CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report summarized where viral hepatitis stood in the United States.

Hepatitis B and C: common, and often hidden

Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are the most common types of viral hepatitis in the United States. Both can cause chronic infection, and many people don't know they're infected until serious complications appear.

Hepatitis A is back

Hepatitis A can be prevented by vaccination, yet since 2016 multiple states have had outbreaks with unprecedented numbers of cases and person-to-person spread — mainly among people who use drugs or experience homelessness. The same MMWR issue carried a report on this resurgence among unvaccinated adults at risk.

New hepatitis C cases are rising

New hepatitis C infections increased 3.5-fold from 2010 to 2016, mostly among young adults.

The opioid connection

Many of the recent increases in viral hepatitis have been linked to surges in injection drug use. They underline the need to recognize, and fight, the infectious disease consequences of the nation's opioid crisis.

Sources

Based on "Hepatitis Awareness Month and Testing Day — May 2019," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.