Most U.S. Hepatitis C Infections May Be Missed

TUESDAY, June 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- New cases of hepatitis C are drastically underreported to federal officials, researchers contend in a new study.

And they suggested that may be hampering public health efforts to cope with the chronic infection that can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

The new study found that only one out of 183 Massachusetts residents diagnosed between 2001 and 2011 with acute hepatitis C infection was reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rest went unreported, either because their test results didn't come back quickly enough or because the results didn't meet the strict CDC definition for hepatitis C infection, said senior study author Dr. Arthur Kim, director of the Viral Hepatitis Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Read more...

High number of Hepatitis C cases in Mesa County

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. It's called the "hidden epidemic" and is more aggressive and infectious than HIV. Hepatitis C starts as a liver infection and can turn into a chronic disease.

According to The Western Colorado Aids Project, Mesa County is one of the highest counties with Hepatitis C cases in Colorado and it's on the rise. WestCAP Director Jeff Basinger estimates that 3,000 to 5,000 people in Mesa County currently have the disease.

"We have a positivity rate that ranges from 25 to 50 percent of all people we test,” said Basinger.

Read more...