"Health departments might conduct investigations of newly reported acute hepatitis C cases to ascertain risk behaviors and exposures associated with infection. However, investigations might not be possible for all cases if patients are lost to follow-up or if health departments lack adequate resources for investigating all cases reported in their jurisdiction.
"Among risk behaviors and exposures identified for reported cases of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in 2021, injection drug use was most commonly reported (57% of the 1,449 cases for which injection drug use information was available). HCV transmission associated with surgery, dialysis, or transfusion is extremely rare in the United States; thus, the reporting of these exposures might represent a history of recent receipt of these health care procedures and do not necessarily indicate these procedures were associated with HCV transmission."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report – United States, 2021. Published August, 2023. Accessed January 5, 2024.
