HCV Fact Sheet

About Hepatitis C

  • The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread mainly through blood-to-blood contact. This includes exposure from remote blood transfusions or medical procedures, and through shared needles for injection drug use or for tattoos.
  • Individuals who had a blood transfusion or received blood products prior to July 1990 are at increased risk.
  • The vast majority of people living with hepatitis C are baby boomers who likely acquired the disease as children.1
  • It is now recommended all adults born between 1945 and 1975 undergo a test for hepatitis C.2
  • To determine if a person has hepatitis C, a hepatitis C antibody test is required which can be accessed through a health care provider.
  • If the body is not able to fight off HCV, chronic hepatitis may develop which can lead to cirrhosis (liver scarring), liver failure, liver cancer or the need for a liver transplant later in life.
  • Chronic hepatitis C is a “silent” disease because often no symptoms appear until the liver is severely damaged. Severe liver disease can develop up to 20-30 years after onset of infection.3
  • Curative therapy for hepatitis C is now available for individuals showing signs of liver disease.
  • Individuals are considered cured of HCV when they have achieved a sustained virological response, meaning a continuation of undetectable viral load status, 12-24 weeks after completing a course of treatment.

Prevalence of Hepatitis C in Canada

  • The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) estimates 242,500 people are currently infected with the hepatitis C, or six to seven people out of every 1,000 Canadians.4
  • In 2012 over 10,000 new hepatitis C cases were reported in Canada. Injection drug use is the most significant exposure route for HCV in Canada, accounting for approximately 60 per cent of all new HCV infections.5
  • There are an estimated 50,000-60,000 people living with the virus in BC. About 2,500 new cases of hepatitis C are identified in the province each year.6
  • An estimated 44 per cent of Canadians living with chronic hepatitis C infection were unaware of their status (97,107 to 108,234).7
  • Many people in Canada and around the world living with hepatitis C are unaware and it is often not detected until symptoms appear.8

Disease Burden in Canada

  • In Canada, hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplants.9
  • Early treatment of hepatitis C can reduce transmission and long-term management costs. This is the concept behind Treatment as Prevention¨, which has been successfully implemented in British Columbia to curb HIV transmission. The province has seen a 65 per cent decline in new HIV cases since 1994.10
  • Combined with indirect costs of hepatitis C, the financial burden of the disease in Canada was estimated at $500 million annually in 2000, projected to have reached $1 billion in 2010.11

References

  1. Jeffrey Joy, PhD, et al. “The spread of hepatitis C virus genotype 1a in North America: a retrospective phylogenetic study”. The Lancet HIV. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(16)00124-9/abstract. Accessed April 8, 2016.
  2. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), “Hepatitis C Testing for Anyone Born During 1945-1965: New CDC Recommendations”. https://www.cdc.gov/features/HepatitisCTesting. Accessed April 8, 2016.
  3. Canadian Liver Foundation, “Hepatitis C”. https://www.liver.ca/liver-disease/types/viral_hepatitis/Hepatitis_C.aspx. Accessed April 8, 2016.
  4. CATIE, “The epidemiology of hepatitis C in Canada”. https://www.catie.ca/en/fact-sheets/epidemiology/epidemiology-hepatitis-c-canada. Accessed April 8, 2016.
  5. Canadian Institutes of Health Research, “Backgrounder on the Hepatitis C Research Initiative”. https://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/38855.html. Accessed April 8, 2016.
  6. The Public Health Agency of Canada, CCDR: Volume 40-19, December 18, 2014. https://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/14vol40/drrm40-19/surveillance-a-eng.php.
  7. CATIE, “The epidemiology of hepatitis C in Canada.” https://www.catie.ca/en/fact-sheets/epidemiology/epidemiology-hepatitis-c-canada. Accessed April 8, 2106.
  8. World Health Organization (WHO). “Hepatitis C.” https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs164/en/. Accessed April 8, 2016.
  9. Canadian Liver Foundation. https://www.liver.ca/support-liver-foundation/advocate/clf-positionstatements/hepatitis_C_testing.aspx. Accessed April 8, 2016.
  10. BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, “Treatment as Prevention¨ Fact Sheet”. https://www.bccfe.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/media-guide/TasP-Fact-Sheet.pdf. Accessed April 8, 2016
  11. Public Health Agency of Canada, “Evaluation of the Hepatitis C Prevention, Support and Research Program 1999/2000 – 2005/2006”. https://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/2008/er-re-hepc/er-rehepc1-eng.php. Accessed April 8, 2016.
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