Measure of Change in Hepatitis C Incidence Due to Change in Testing Requirements.
Abstract
Background: In the Spring of 2020 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance that recommended all adults over the age of 18 be screened for Hepatitis C at least once. North Central Health District (NCHD) Epidemiology Program analyzed Hepatitis C data to determine if there was an increase in confirmed or probable Hepatitis C cases, as well as possible demographic changes due to the new guidance.
Methods: Reported Hepatitis C cases for the 13-county area of NCHD were gathered from Georgia’s notifiable disease surveillance system. Using this data, reported Hepatitis C cases that met the CDC case definitions for classification as probable or confirmed and reported six months prior to the recommendation going into effect in April 2020 were compared to Hepatitis C cases reported in the six months after. Descriptive statistics were used to provide frequencies and time-based trends regarding differences amongst the different at-risk groups.
Results: When looking at overall case counts, there was a decrease in the number of cases in the six months after the recommendation went into effect, compared to the prior six months. However, the spread of cases within the demographic characteristics was similar between the two timeframes. Throughout the thirteen counties within the NCHD, the case numbers were similar as well.
Conclusion: With any new requirement that broadens the population that are required to be tested an increase in the case numbers is expected. However, this was not the case in the NCHD for the Hepatitis C testing recommendation. This shows that more education needs to be done ensure that providers and stakeholders are aware of the new testing recommendations.
Keywords
Hepatitis C, Notifiable diseases, CDC reccomendations.
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Measure of Change in Hepatitis C Incidence Due to Change in Testing Requirements.
Background: In the Spring of 2020 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance that recommended all adults over the age of 18 be screened for Hepatitis C at least once. North Central Health District (NCHD) Epidemiology Program analyzed Hepatitis C data to determine if there was an increase in confirmed or probable Hepatitis C cases, as well as possible demographic changes due to the new guidance.
Methods: Reported Hepatitis C cases for the 13-county area of NCHD were gathered from Georgia’s notifiable disease surveillance system. Using this data, reported Hepatitis C cases that met the CDC case definitions for classification as probable or confirmed and reported six months prior to the recommendation going into effect in April 2020 were compared to Hepatitis C cases reported in the six months after. Descriptive statistics were used to provide frequencies and time-based trends regarding differences amongst the different at-risk groups.
Results: When looking at overall case counts, there was a decrease in the number of cases in the six months after the recommendation went into effect, compared to the prior six months. However, the spread of cases within the demographic characteristics was similar between the two timeframes. Throughout the thirteen counties within the NCHD, the case numbers were similar as well.
Conclusion: With any new requirement that broadens the population that are required to be tested an increase in the case numbers is expected. However, this was not the case in the NCHD for the Hepatitis C testing recommendation. This shows that more education needs to be done ensure that providers and stakeholders are aware of the new testing recommendations.
