Hepatitis C Fact Sheet What is Hepatitis C? Hepatitis C can be a “silent disease” with serious medical consequences. Hepatitis C can cause deterioration of the liver for years before any symptoms appear, and 80% of persons infected may never experience any signs or symptoms. Some people recover from hepatitis C on their own, after about six months, but most people (approximately 80%) develop a lifelong, chronic condition. Hepatitis C can cause liver damage, liver cancer and even death. Hepatitis C is a National Epidemic: There is an epidemic of Hepatitis C in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): • An estimated 3.9 million (1.8%) Americans have been infected with HCV, of whom 2.7 million are chronically infected. • About seven or eight of every 10 people who are infected with the hepatitis C virus will go on to develop chronic liver disease. • About 10-20% of those individuals will later develop cirrhosis of the liver. • Hepatitis C is already the single leading cause of liver transplantation in the United States. • It is the most common blood-borne viral infection in the United States. • There are 8,000 to 10,000 deaths annually in the US from hepatitis C related chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, and this mortality is expected to increase 3 to 5 times over the next 10 years. • Yearly costs of hepatitis C are already at an alarming $15 billion dollars. That figure is expected to skyrocket to $26 billion by 2021. • The cost of treating one person with hepatitis C is about $30,000. • There is no vaccine to prevent Hepatitis C. • May 23, 2003--Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and Edward Kennedy sponsored The Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act (S-1143). This is the first federal response to the epidemic. • The CDC is currently preparing a national strategic plan to address this epidemic. • Texas, California, and Washington have passed legislation, with funding, to create statewide plans to address Hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C in New Mexico • NM has the highest rate of deaths due to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis in the US- this rate is 25% higher than the next highest state (Nevada)! • The Department of Health’s Office of Epidemiology conservatively estimates that 32,000 people in New Mexico are infected with hepatitis C. Typically, at least one quarter of people with hepatitis C don’t know they’re infected. • The New Mexico Department of Corrections estimates that 50% of all NM state prisoners and jail detainees are infected with hepatitis C. This population characteristically cycles in and out of the general population, potentially increasing the rate of infection. • In New Mexico, hepatitis C infection is ten times more prevalent than HIV infection. • A study of 223 emergency room admissions by the University of New Mexico School of Medicine (published in 2002) found that 17% had been infected with hepatitis C. • The purpose of the NM Hepatitis C Alliance, with its inaugural meeting on November 13/14, 2003, is to develop a comprehensive five-year plan to address hepatitis C in New Mexico.
Conclusion:
These indicators forecast an enormous and expensive public health problem in NM, particularly over the next decade. Questions? Contact Melissa Heinz, Hepatitis Program Manager, New Mexico Department of Health, 505.827.2507 or email Melissa.Heinz-Bennett@state.nm.us or the Region 5 Public Health Resource Center at 505.528.5053. 03.12.08