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Hepatitis C Surveillance in South Australia

Hepatitis C Medical Notification 01/07/01 - 30/09/01

In the third quarter of 2001, medical notifications of hepatitis C infection were received for 246 individuals, 156 (63%) males and 90 (37%) females, consistent with previous quarters.

Among the notifications, 38 cases were reported as having an earlier positive test (pre-1995) whilst 108 individuals had never been tested before for hepatitis C infection. In a further 69 cases the testing history was unknown. Of 31 individuals with a previous negative test, 20 were tested more than 12 months earlier and 11 were tested within the last year. In 148 (71%) 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 cases (85%) were aged between 20 and 49 years, (116 males, 59 females) (Table 2.2). Of five males and five females aged less than twenty years (10 cases), nine 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 hepatitis not ascribed to other causes.

Fifteen incident cases were identified during the quarter, 11 had negative serology in the preceding 12 months and four were clinical diagnoses. The incident cases comprised eight males and seven females. In 14 cases the likely mode of transmission for hepatitis C virus was injecting drug use, occupational exposure was likely in one further case (Table 2.3). At the time of diagnosis most incident cases (73%) were less than 30 years of age (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, new diagnoses 01/07/01 - 30/09/01 and year to date.
               Exposure category by sex.

1 Includes IDU in combination with other categories.

2 Residence/medical treatment in a high prevalence overseas country.

3 Includes occupational exposure; household, perinatal & sexual transmission; body piercing/ acupuncture.

Table 2.2 Hepatitis C infection, new diagnoses 01/07/01 - 30/09/01 and year to date.
                Age group by sex.

Table 2.3 Newly acquired hepatitis C infection (Incident cases*),
               01/07/01 - 30/09/01 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*),
                 01/07/01 - 30/09/01 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,
                01/07/01 - 30/09/01* and year to date. Laboratory by sex.

^{*incomplete data for this quarter}

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