|
Hepatitis
C Medical Notification 01/10/02 - 31/12/02
Medical
notifications 2002
During 2002, medical notifications of hepatitis C infection
were received for 563 males and 298 females (861 cases). Among these
notifications were 44 incident cases. This is a marked decrease when
compared to the number of incident cases in recent years (91 in 2001; 92
in 2000).
Hepatitis
C Medical Notification 01/10/02 - 31/12/02
In the fourth quarter of 2002, medical notifications of
hepatitis C infection were received for 176 individuals,
109 (62%) males
and 67 (38%) females.
Among the notifications, 29 cases were reported as having an
earlier positive test (pre-1995), whilst
73 individuals had never been
tested before for hepatitis C infection. In a further 51 cases the testing
history was unknown. Of 23 individuals with a previous negative test, 15
were tested more than 12 months
earlier
and eight were tested within the
last year. In 98 (65%) instances, past or present injecting drug use
was reported as a likely transmission route for hepatitis C virus
(Table
2.1).
At diagnosis, the majority of males (67%) were aged between
30 and 49 years, while most females
(77%)
were in the 20 - 49 year age
range (Table 2.2) Of five cases
(one male, four females) aged less
than twenty
years at diagnosis, four
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.
Eight incident cases were identified during the quarter, all
had negative serology in the preceding
12 months.The incident cases
comprised three males and five females. In five cases the likely mode of
transmission for hepatitis C virus was injecting drug use, two cases also
had recent tattoos. One further
case is currently under investigation,
having had a recent medical procedure.
The transmission route is
not yet known in one other case (Table
2.3). At the time of
diagnosis three females were more 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 01/10/02 - 31/12/02 and year.
Exposure category
by sex.
|
|
4th
Quarter
01/10/02 - 31/12/02
|
Year
01/01/02
- 31/12/02
|
|
Exposure
category
|
Male
|
Female
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
|
IDU1
|
51
|
26
|
293
|
136
|
429
|
|
IDU/tattoos
|
14
|
5
|
69
|
19
|
88
|
|
Blood transfusion/products
|
4
|
2
|
16
|
20
|
36
|
|
Tattoos
|
7
|
4
|
29
|
16
|
45
|
|
Other2
|
4
|
6
|
16
|
14
|
30
|
|
High prevalence country3
|
6
|
4
|
27
|
21
|
58
|
|
Unknown
|
9
|
5
|
38
|
25
|
63
|
|
Total
|
95
|
52
|
498
|
251
|
749
|
1
Includes
IDU in combination with categories other than tattoos .
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 01/10/02 - 31/12/02 and year.
Age group by sex.
|
|
4th
Quarter
01/10/02
- 31/12/02
|
Year
to date
01/01/02
- 31/12/02
|
|
Age group (years)
|
Male
|
Female
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
|
10 - 19
|
1
|
4
|
12
|
18
|
30
|
|
20 - 29
|
20
|
14
|
119
|
74
|
193
|
|
30 - 39
|
28
|
14
|
165
|
74
|
239
|
|
40 - 49
|
36
|
12
|
152
|
55
|
207
|
|
³
50
|
10
|
8
|
50
|
30
|
80
|
|
Total
|
95
|
52
|
498
|
251
|
749
|
Table 2.3
Newly acquired
infections (Incident cases*) of hepatitis C infection,
01/10/02 - 31/12/02 and year. Exposure category by sex.
|
|
4th
Quarter
01/10/02
- 31/12/02
|
Year
to date
01/01/02
- 31/12/02
|
|
Exposure category
|
Male
|
Female
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
|
IDU
|
2
|
2
|
20
|
13
|
33
|
|
IDU/tattoos
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
|
Sex partner
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
|
Other1
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Unknown
|
-
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
5
|
|
Total
|
3
|
5
|
25
|
19
|
44
|
* Incident
cases are newly acquired infections, see text.
Table 2.4
Newly acquired
infections (Incident cases*) of hepatitis C infection,
01/10/02 - 31/12/02 and year. Age group by sex.
|
|
4th Quarter
01/10/02
- 31/12/02
|
Year
01/01/02
- 31/12/02
|
|
Age
group (years)
|
Male
|
Female
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
|
15 - 19
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
6
|
|
20 - 29
|
3
|
1
|
16
|
8
|
24
|
|
30 - 39
|
-
|
2
|
7
|
4
|
11
|
|
40 - 49
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
50 - 59
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
|
Total
|
3
|
5
|
25
|
19
|
44
|
* Incident
cases are newly acquired infections, see text.
Table 2.5 Summary of
laboratory tests for hepatitis C antibodies,
01/10/02 - 31/12/02 and year. Laboratory by sex.
|
|
4th
Quarter
|
Year
to date
|
|
|
01/10/02
- 31/12/02
|
01/01/02
- 31/12/02
|
|
Laboratory
|
Male
|
Female
|
Unknown
|
Male
|
Female
|
Unknown
|
Total
|
|
Public
|
5205
|
6157
|
105
|
21032
|
25667
|
144
|
46843
|
|
Private
|
3369
|
3653
|
-
|
13395
|
14843
|
-
|
28238
|
|
Total
|
8574
|
9810
|
105
|
34427
|
40510
|
144
|
75081
|
|
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