Hepatitis C Virus ¨C Reduce Deaths Among Non-Hispanic Black Persons

Age-adjusted rate* of hepatitis C-related deaths^† among non-Hispanic Black persons and annual targets for the United States by year

Source: National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) data in this report are from the 2018–Present Provisional Multiple Cause of Death Data files in the CDC WONDER online database as of November 16, 2024.1
^*Rates are per 100,000 population and age-adjusted to the 2000 US Standard Population.
^†Cause of death is defined as the underlying cause of death or one of the multiple causes of death and is based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10^th Revision (ICD-10) codes B17.1 or B18.2.2

Summary of findings

Compared to the overall population, non-Hispanic Black persons had a higher age-adjusted hepatitis C-related death rate in 2023 (2.52 vs. 4.03 deaths per 100,000 population, respectively). The rate among non-Hispanic Black persons decreased from 5.72 in 2020 to 4.03 deaths per 100,000 population in 2023, below the annual target of 4.92. Targeted efforts are needed to increase awareness, hepatitis C screening, early diagnosis, and access to care and treatment to further decrease hepatitis C-related deaths among non-Hispanic Black persons.

Further reduction can best be achieved by:

• Building and harnessing partnerships that amplify the use of effective prevention, testing, and treatment strategies in persons and settings with higher rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission.
• Developing trainings, technical assistance, and clinical decision support tools for primary care and other health care providers to support and increase implementation of hepatitis C screening, testing, and treatment.
• Developing public health campaigns that raise awareness about hepatitis C and encourage non-Hispanic Black persons to be screened.
• Expanding access to hepatitis C screening and testing for all non-Hispanic Black persons.
• Increasing access to timely curative treatment by lowering costs, eliminating additional barriers (for example, prior authorization requirements), improving navigation to care, and integrating treatment into routine primary care.
• Promoting and implementing universal hepatitis C screening for all adults at least once in their lifetime and for every pregnant woman during each pregnancy.
• Promoting and implementing more frequent or periodic testing for persons with recognized exposures (such as use of injection drugs) as long as the risk persists and in settings where people receive care.
• Promoting and implementing testing of all infants and children perinatally exposed to hepatitis C.
• Supporting continuing medical education and developing partnerships with service providers to improve confidence and comfort when working with people with HCV infection.
• Using digital technology and telemedicine models to expand access to specialty health care providers.

Technical notes

Data sources: CDC, National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)

Numerator: Number of death records among non-Hispanic Black persons with a report of hepatitis C listed as the underlying or one of the multiple causes of death

Denominator: Total United States Census population of non-Hispanic Black persons

Indicator notes: Death certificates are completed for all deaths registered in the US.1 Information for death certificates is provided to funeral directors or cremation organizations by attending physicians, medical examiners, and coroners. Death certificates are filed in vital statistics offices within each state and the District of Columbia. Through the NVSS, information from death certificates is compiled by CDC to produce national Multiple Cause of Death data; causes of death are coded in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases, 10^th Revision (ICD-10).2 National Multiple Cause of Death data from NVSS were obtained and analyzed, and those death records with a report of hepatitis C (ICD-10: B17.1 or B18.2) listed as the underlying or one of the multiple (contributing) causes of death in the record were enumerated. Rates were calculated as the number of deaths related to hepatitis C among non-Hispanic Black persons who were US residents in the 50 states and District of Columbia divided by the total US Census population of non-Hispanic Black persons in these jurisdictions using the postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Rates were standardized to the age distribution of the 2000 US Standard Population.3

Goal setting: The 2025 goal of 4.92 hepatitis C-related deaths among non-Hispanic Black persons per 100,000 population is consistent with CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis 2025 Strategic Plan and the . Annual targets assume a constant (linear) rate of change from the observed baseline (2017 data year) to the 2025 goal (2023 data year).

Limitations: Death data must be interpreted with caution due to the potential for misclassification of ICD-10 codes on the death record, underrepresentation of certain racial and/or ethnic populations in US Census data, and underreporting of viral hepatitis as a cause of death on death certificates.4