The incidence of acute hepatitis C increased 51.6% among whites from 2010 to 2011, the last year for which data are available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Over a 2-year period, American Indians and Alaskan Natives had a 137% increase in acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, going from 0.46 reported cases per 100,000 population in 2009 to 1.09 cases per 100,000 in 2011, according to data from the CDC’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
These increases were accompanied by smaller rises in HCV incidence among blacks (up 27.3% from 2010 to 2011) and Hispanics (up 21.4% from 2010 to 2011). Asians and Pacific Islanders, who have the lowest rate among the major racial/ethnic groups, saw their HCV incidence drop almost 29% – from 0.07 per 100,000 to 0.05 – from 2010 to 2011, the CDC noted.
