Hepatitis C Rise Linked to Opioid Crisis
December 21, 2017 - Today, CDC published new research suggesting the recent steep increase in hepatitis C virus infection is associated with increases in opioid injection.
Until the last decade, hepatitis C primarily affected older generations – mostly baby boomers, born between 1945 and 1965 – but as the opioid crisis has worsened, the virus has gained a foothold among younger people who inject drugs. The new report underscores the importance of an integrated response to these dual epidemics.
Key Findings
- There have been substantial, simultaneous increases in cases of acute hepatitis C (133 percent) and admissions to substance use disorder treatment for opioid injection (93 percent) from 2004 to 2014.
- Increases were seen at the national level and when data were analyzed by state, by age, and by race and ethnicity, pointing to a close relationship between the two troubling trends.
The most dramatic increases were seen among younger Americans
- Among 18- to 29-year-olds: HCV increased by 400% and admission for opioid injection by 622%
- Among 30- to 39-year-olds: HCV increased by 325% and admission for opioid injection by 83%
"Hepatitis C is a deadly, common, and often invisible result of America's opioid crisis."
– Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, Director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention