HCV is a serious threat.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 19.659 deaths were registered in 2014, all caused by the Hepatitis C (HCV).

Another important aspect is that these deaths doubled from 850 in 2010 to 2194 in 2014. Moreover, an estimated 30,500 new HCV infections occurred in 2014. The main victims of this disease were young drug users, living in rural and suburban areas in eastern and midwestern states. The source of HCV came from the use of opioids such as oxycodone. West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee had the highest rate of deaths.

After the second CDC analysis, regarding the mortality in 2013, Kathleen N. Ly, and other colleagues from the Division of Viral Hepatitis of CDC learned that from 2002 to 2013, the deaths linked to HCV increased from 11,051 to 19,368. These rates are frightening and not only. They exceed the total deaths combination from 60 other nationally notifiable infectious conditions including pneumococcal disease, tuberculosis, and HIV.

This analysis specifies that the average deaths number increased with 865 per year. Furthermore, the level of underreported cases is high. Out of 1600 deceased patients due to HCV,  in only 19% of cases the death certificates mentioned that the patients had HCV despite the fact that 75% of the patients suffered from a liver disease while they were still alive. Most importantly, 59% percent of these patients did not even have HCV listed as a cause of death.

According to this survey, the number of fatalities linked to HCV (15,106) exceeded for the first time the number of deaths related to AIDS/HIV (12,734) in 2007 and never stopped since then.

Scientists learned that these deaths occurred because only 19% of the patients with HCV are provided with advanced treatment and just 13% complete it. Meaning that the rest of 81% HCV-infected individuals do not get antiviral therapy.

CDC recommended since 2013 that people who were born between 1945 and 1965 should take an HCV testing. All is left to do is to hope that in the future people will pay more attention to their health.

There is an approximation of 3.5 million Americans which are presently diagnosed with HCV and even worse, half of them do not even realize they have the infection because it has a long period of incubation. Plus, almost everyone already knows that Hepatitis has an asymptomatic nature.

Image Source: Shared Sources