A new study reports that deaths from hepatitis C have increased steadily in the United States and now overshadow those related to HIV, with most victims in their middle age.

Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA) reviewed 22 million death records from 1999 to 2007. The researchers found that deaths from hepatitis C (15,000) surpassed deaths from HIV (13,000). They also found that deaths from hepatitis C and B were mostly among the middle-aged, with 73% of hepatitis C deaths reported among those 45 to 64 years old. As a result, the researchers concluded that two-thirds of those at risk are what are termed “baby boomers,” born between 1946 and 1964. This population has thus entered a high-risk period of life for hepatitis C-related disease.

The researchers attribute this trend to increased and frequent injection drug use in the baby boomer age group, with even a one-time exposure carrying a high risk of infection. Another factor that is involved was sexual promiscuity. The researchers estimated that if the current trends continue, by 2030 deaths from hepatitis C are expected to reach 35,000 a year, posing the threat of a future public health burden. About 3.2 million Americans are currently infected with hepatitis C, with an estimated 50%-75% of infected adults unaware they have the disease. A further 1.4 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B. The study was published in the February 21, 2012, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“These data underscore the urgent need to address the health threat posed by chronic hepatitis B and C, a leading and preventable cause of premature death in the United States,” said study coauthor Scott Holmberg, MD, chief of the Epidemiology and surveillance branch in the CDC Division of Viral Hepatitis. “Over time, leaving viral hepatitis untreated can lead to costly care and treatments, and lifetime costs can total hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, early detection and intervention can be cost-effective and save lives.”

Hepatitis C, a major cause of liver cancer and cirrhosis, is spread through injection drug use, from blood transfusions received before routine blood screening began in 1992, and through sexual contact; in some cases, it passes from mothers to infants. Standard treatment for hepatitis C is a combination of the antiviral drug ribavirin with interferon, an immune-boosting protein. The development of an experimental drug class called nucleotide polymerase inhibitors could signal a new treatment modality for battling Hepatitis C.

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