STD HEPATITIS C: HOW COMMON IS IT?
Approximately 150,000 people are diagnosed with hepatitis C infection each year in the United States, and it is estimated that four million people in this country are infected. Since hepatitis C is not reportable to the health department in many states, this probably is a low estimate. Approximately 38 percent of those infected have a current or past history of injection drug use; more than 50 percent of injection drug users who share needles are positive for hepatitis C. In addition, 10 percent were infected by sexual or household contact, 4 percent by blood or blood product transfusions (mostly acquired before screening was put in place; the risk of infection from a transfusion today is less than 0.03%), and 2 percent by occupational exposure such as accidental needle-stick injuries. Some of those who are diagnosed and deny any high-risk activity may be embarrassed to admit to the behavior, but, even taking that into account, there are a number of infected people who do not have any obvious risk factor.
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