Hepatitis surveillance report

Issued April 1996Viral hepatitis in the United States has been a major public health problem for many years, with estimated medical treatment costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The long-term consequences of many of these viral infections are only now becoming apparent to many infected patients and their families. Infections caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), in particular, effectively resist the body\u2019s attempts to develop immunity, leading to persistent infection and chronic liver disease in a large percentage of those infected.Thus, the declines in the incidence of hepatitis types A, B, and C reported in recent years are encouraging. This report summarizes surveillance data collected during 1993 for acute viral hepatitis. Reported cases of viral hepatitis in 1993 continued their overall downward trends with one exception. Hepatitis A increased by 5% from 1992 to 1993, and preliminary data for 1994-95 suggest that this increase will continue into 1996. The objective of national surveillance of viral hepatitis is to provide serologic, demographic, and epidemiologic information that will aid in formulating strategies and policies for the prevention and control of these diseases. The hepatitis surveillance report interprets and disseminates this information, presents new developments in the field, and clarifies issues related to viral hepatitis. Nationwide information on hepatitis is obtained by two surveillance systems. In one, incidence data are collected from cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) by each state and territory. The etiologic classification is made by physician diagnosis; confirmation by serologic testing is not required. The number of cases and date reported of each type of hepatitis appear in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) and the MMWR Annual Summary of Notifiable Diseases, and are summarized in this report as well.Highlights: Risk of acquiring hepatitis C for health-care workers and recommendations for prophylaxis and follow-after occupational exposure; Recent increases in reported case of hepatitis C/non-A, non-B hepatitis; Evaluationg the effectiveness of the programs to prevent hepatitis B virus transmission in the United States; National surveillance through 1993.Suggested Citation: Hepatitis Surveillance Report No. 56. -- Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1995. 36 p.Issued April 1996National Center for Infectious Diseases (U.S.). Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases. Hepatitis Branch.Introduction -- Issues and answers -- New horizons -- Trends based on reporting to National Morbidity Reporting System -- Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Program, 1993.Surveillance and InvestigationInfectious Diseas