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Hepatitis C Surveillance in South Australia

Hepatitis C Medical Notification 01/04/00 - 30/06/00

In the second quarter of 2000, medical notifications of hepatitis C infection were received for 282 individuals, 182 (65%) males and 100 (35%) females.

Among the 282 notifications, 45 cases were reported as having an earlier positive test (pre-1995), whilst 95 individuals had never been tested before for hepatitis C. In a further 100 cases the testing history was unknown. Of 42 individuals with a previous negative test, 26 were tested more than 12 months earlier and 16 were tested within the last year. In 173 (73%) instances, past or present injecting drug use was reported as a likely transmission route for hepatitis C virus (Table 2.1).

At the time of diagnosis, the majority of individuals were aged between 20 and 39 years, 103 (67%) males and 49 (60%) females (Table 2.2). Of eight males and eight females aged less than twenty years (16 cases), 15 had a history of injecting drug use.

Newly acquired infections - Incident Cases

Incident cases are infections acquired in the last 12 months, and are identified by recent seroconversion for hepatitis C antibodies or a positive test accompanied by acute clinical illness not ascribed to other causes.

Sixteen incident cases were identified during the quarter, all had negative serology in the preceding 12 months. The incident cases comprised nine males and seven females. In all cases the likely mode of transmission for hepatitis C virus was injecting drug use (Table 2.3). At the time of diagnosis most were aged 20 to 29 years (Table 2.4).

Collated laboratory data for hepatitis C antibody tests performed during the quarter are shown in Table 2.5.

Table 2.1 Hepatitis C infection, 01/04/00 - 30/06/00 and year to date.
               Exposure category by sex.

^*   Includes IDU in combination with other categories.

**  Includes possible occupational exposure; household, perinatal & sexualtransmission;
     body piercing/ acupunture.

*** Residence/medical treatment in a high prevalence country.

Table 2.2 Hepatitis C infection, 01/04/00 - 30/06/00 and year to date.
               Age group by sex.

Table 2.3 Newly acquired hepatitis C infection (Incident cases*),
               01/04/00 - 30/06/00 and year to date. Exposure category by sex.

^{* Incident cases are newly acquired infections, see text.}

Table 2.4 Newly acquired hepatitis C infection (Incident cases*), 
               01/04/00 - 30/06/00 and year to date. Age group by sex.

^{* Incident cases are newly acquired infections, see text.}

Table 2.5 Summary of laboratory tests for hepatitis C antibodies, 
                01/04/00 - 30/06/00 and year to date. Laboratory by sex.

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