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Hepatitis C Surveillance in South Australia

Hepatitis C Medical Notification 01/07/03 - 30/09/03

In the third quarter of 2003, 210 medical notifications of hepatitis C infection were received for 134 (64%) males and 76 (36%) females; similar to the same period in 2002.

Among the notifications, 29 cases were reported as having an earlier positive test (pre-1995) while 59 individuals had never been tested before for hepatitis C infection.  In a further 73 cases the testing history was unknown.  Of 49 individuals with a previous negative test, 33 were tested more than 12 months earlier and 16 were tested within the last year. In 135 (75%) 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, 36% of males (42) were aged between 40 and 49 years, whereas 40% of females (26) were in the 20 to 29 year age-group (Table 2.2).  Of three males and six females aged less than twenty years , seven 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.

Seventeen incident cases were identified during the quarter, 16 had negative serology in the preceding 12 months and one, with negative serology more than 12 months earlier, had clinical signs. The incident cases comprised seven males and ten females.  In 14 cases the likely mode of transmission for hepatitis C virus was injecting drug use. One case with multiple risk factors is under investigation; a hepatitis C positive sexual partner is the only risk in another case. One further case with low levels of antibody received blood many years ago (Table 2.3).  At diagnosis, most incident cases (76%) 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 01/07/03 - 30/09/03 and year
                 to date. Exposure category by sex.

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 01/07/03 - 30/09/03 and year 
                  to date. Age group by sex.

Table 2.3  Newly acquired hepatitis C infection (Incident cases*), 
                 01/07/03 - 30/09/03 and year to date. Exposure category by sex.

^{* Incident cases are newly acquired infections, see text.
#  Second risk in one case; remote risk in one case.}

Table 2.4  Newly acquired hepatitis C infection (Incident cases*), 
                 01/07/03 - 30/09/03 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,
                 01/07/03 - 30/09/03 and year to date. Laboratory by sex.

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