Hepatitis C Statistics

Statistics reveal that about 300 million people are infected with the hepatitis C virus worldwide. However, the number of new hepatitis C cases diagnosed each year in the US has been steadily decreasing. Based on current statistics for hepatitis C, it's estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 people die each year from chronic liver disease caused by this condition.

Hepatitis C Information

Hepatitis C Statistics: An Overview

Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). There are two types of hepatitis C -- acute and chronic.

About 15 percent of cases end up being acute hepatitis C, in which the immune system is able to completely destroy the virus. For about 85 percent of infected people, however, the immune system is not able to completely get rid of the hepatitis C virus, and they end up having a long-term liver infection. This is called chronic hepatitis C.

Approximately 300 million people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis C virus. About 3.9 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis C. This represents about 1.8 percent of the population.

How Common Is Hepatitis C?

The number of hepatitis C cases has been decreasing since its peak in the 1980s.

Currently, there are fewer than 30,000 cases of hepatitis C diagnosed each year.

	Estimated Total New Hepatitis C Infections
1982	180,000
1983	188,000
1984	219,000
1985	261,000
1986	262,000
1987	216,000
1988	240,000
1989	291,000
1990	179,000
1991	112,000
1992	73,000
1993	57,000
1994	54,000
1995	36,000
1996	36,000
1997	38,000
1998	41,000
1999	39,000
2000	38,000
2001	24,000
2002	29,000
2003	28,000
2004	26,000

(Hepatitis C Statistics Continued: Page 2)