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Hepatitis C Surveillance in South Australia

Hepatitis C Medical Notification 01/04/02 - 30/06/02

In the second quarter of 2002, medical notifications of hepatitis C infection were received for 203 individuals, 139 (68%) males and 64 (32%) females.

Among the notifications, 16 cases were reported as having an earlier positive test (pre-1995), whilst 77 individuals had never been tested before for hepatitis C infection. In a further 73 cases the testing history was unknown. Of 37 individuals with a previous negative test, 23 were tested more than 12 months earlier and 14 were tested within the last year. In 131 (70%) 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 males (72%) were aged between 30 and 49 years, while most females (59%) were in the 20 to 39 year age range (Table 2.2). All three males and six females aged less than twenty years (nine cases) 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.

Fourteen incident cases were identified during the quarter, all had negative serology in the preceding 12 months; three also had clinical hepatitis. The incident cases comprised seven males and seven females. In 12 cases the likely mode of transmission for hepatitis C virus was injecting drug use (Table 2.3). At the time of diagnosis most (84%) 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, 01/04/02 - 30/06/02. 
                Exposure category by sex.

^{1 includes IDU in combination with other categories
2  includes -body piercing, blood contact
3 residence/medical treatment in a high prevalence country overseas.}

Table 2.2 Hepatitis C infection, 01/04/02 - 30/06/02 and year to date. 
                Age group by sex.

Table 2.3 Newly acquired infections (Incident cases*) of hepatitis C, 
                01/04/02 - 30/06/02 & year to date. Exposure category by sex.

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

Table 2.4 Newly acquired hepatitis C infections (Incident cases*),
                01/04/02 - 30/06/02 and year to date.  Age group by sex.

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

Table 2.5 Summary of hepatitis C antibody tests, 
                01/04/02 - 30/06/02 and year to date. Laboratory by sex.

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