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Surveillance for newly acquired hepatitis C in Australia
Author(s) -
ROBOTIN MONICA C,
COPLAND JOY,
TALLIS GRAHAM,
COLEMAN DAVID,
GIELE CAROLIEN,
CARTER LOUISE,
SPENCER JENEAN,
KALDOR JOHN M,
DORE GREGORY J
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2003.03270.x
Subject(s) - medicine , transmission (telecommunications) , sexual transmission , hepatitis c , hepatitis c virus , hepatitis , viral hepatitis , hepatitis a , virology , acute hepatitis , virus , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , microbicide , electrical engineering , engineering
Background: The purpose of the present paper was to determine recent patterns of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission in Australia through a national system of enhanced surveillance of newly acquired hepatitis C. Methods: Demographic, clinical, and risk behavior information on newly acquired hepatitis C cases from 1997 to 2000 was collected. Newly acquired hepatitis C included cases of HCV antibody sero‐conversion within a 12 month period and acute clinical hepatitis C cases. Results: Nine hundred and twelve cases of newly acquired hepatitis C were identified, representing 2.8% of all HCV notifications for this period. The majority of cases (72%) were diagnosed in people aged between 20 and 39 years. Injecting drug use was reported in the vast majority of cases (93%), with sexual transmission (2%) and tattooing (2%) reported in small numbers. HCV antibody sero‐conversion was the mode of diagnosis in most cases (78%). Conclusions: Injecting drug use is the main route of HCV transmission in Australia. As only a small proportion of HCV infections are detected as newly acquired, enhanced surveillance procedures, including increased regular HCV testing of at‐risk populations are required to more effectively monitor recent patterns of transmission. © 2004 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd