"In Sweden, the prevalence of hepatitis C among injecting drug users is very high. In various studies conducted during the last 15 years, the prevalence has been reported to be between 60% and 92%.
"Altogether, 1981 cases of hepatitis C were reported in 2012. Intravenous drug use is the dominant transmission route and most cases are domestic. Viewed in a longer perspective, the total number of reported cases is decreasing. However, when viewed by age group, no falling trend can be seen in 15-29 year-olds over the last 10 years. In 2012, 693 cases were reported in this age group and 48 cases were reported among those under the age of 20. This indicates that there is on-going recruitment to injecting drug use among young people and an on-going transmission of the disease among young intravenous drug users in Sweden. Hepatitis C among IDUs remains a challenge and future intervention efforts are prioritized. The trend analysis is aggravated by the fact that it is not possible to differentiate between acute cases and chronic cases of hepatitis C in the surveillance data (Smittskyddsinstitutet, 2013)."
Swedish National Institute of Public Health. "2013 National Report (2012 data) to the EMCDDA by the Reitox National Focal Point: Sweden: New Developments, Trends and in-depth information on selected issues." Östersund: Swedish National Institute of Public Health, 2013, p. 61.
http://folkhalsomyndigheten.s…
