Hepatitis C infection in Louisiana.
Estimating a prevalence of 1.8% of hepatitis C in the general population, there are in Louisiana about 81,000 individuals who have been infected with the hepatitis C virus. In 2002, the incidence of reported cases of acute hepatitis C was 2.2/100,000 versus 0.64 in the USA. The case register maintained by the Louisiana Office of Public Health has 22,000 cases. Building up a register of hepatitis C past or present infections is an important tool that may be used to resolve some important questions about the epidemiology of hepatitis C or be used for future preventive actions. Physicians and hospitals are encouraged to report hepatitis C infection including sufficient information to distinguish acute hepatitis C from hepatitis C past or present infection.
Sokol
Theresa M
TM
Infectious Disease Epidemiology Section, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health, USA.
Lewis
Brian E
BE
Straif-Bourgeois
Susanne
S
Talati
Gita
G
Ratard
Raoult C
RC
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008145:Louisiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015996:Survival Rate