Health security

Hepatitis C cases soar in US as officials point to heroin use

Health officials are reporting a dramatic increase in the amount of new hepatitis C cases detected in the United States between 2010 and 2015, despite available treatments and high cure rates for the disease. The report, released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), points to a spike in heroin use and other injectable drugs that potentially fueled the 300 percent increase in cases.

According to the CDC report, the national reported rate of hepatitis C was 0.8 per 100,000 persons in 2015, with nearly 34,000 new infections. In that same year, 17 states exceeded the national average. The report was compiled through a state-by-state analysis of reported cases, as well as a review of laws related to access to clean needles for drug users and levels of restriction on Medicaid access to treatments, Reuters reported.