Hepatitis Infections Fell to Lowest in 40 Years

Hepatitis infections in the U.S. fell to the lowest levels on record, reducing the threat from a leading cause of liver cancer, as vaccines prevented more disease.

New cases of Hepatitis A declined 88 percent in 1995 through 2005, reaching the lowest annual level in 40 years of data collection, according to a report today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatitis B cases fell 79 percent during the same period, also to a record, the Atlanta-based agency said.

The availability of vaccines for Hepatitis A and B, and federally supported immunization programs to push the vaccines, led to the reductions, the CDC said. Vaccines are used to confer or boost immunity against infection.

“The sharp declines in rates of hepatitis A and B are one of the big public-health success stories of the last 10 years,” said Kevin Fenton, the director of the CDC division that manages viral infections such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis, in a statement.

About 4.5 million Americans are living with chronic Hepatitis B or a third form of the disease, hepatitis C, and could develop cirrhosis or cancer of the liver, the agency said.

The rate of hepatitis A infection has fallen to 1.5 cases for every 100,000 people, compared with 1.8 cases for every 100,000 with hepatitis B, the CDC said.

The hepatitis C rate fell to 0.2 cases for every 100,000 people, according to the report. The drop in hepatitis C was due to a reduction in high-risk behavior among users of injectable drugs, the agency said.

More than 100,000 new hepatitis infections were reported in 2005, the CDC said.

The three hepatitis forms are unrelated. They are transmitted through different routes. Safe and effective vaccines have been available for the B form since 1981, and for the A form since 1995, according to the report.

Source : www.bloomberg.com