I thought I would provide everybody with some statistics for HIV and Hep C (known as HCV). I found these statistics surprising because you hear so much about HIV but it isn't nearly as prevelent as HCV.
HIV/AIDS cases between 1982 - 2006 (October) 15,897
HCV cases 2000-2006 (June) 31,104 which does not account for Department of Corrections, Tribes, VA or informed, well educated providers testing all those who may have HCV as an underlying cause of other diseases - diabetes, hypothyroidism, cardiovascular disease, etc.
Deaths based on Vital Statistics numbers - 2000-2004 HIV/AIDS 930
2000-2004 HCV 2,230
Here is the link to the National Hepatitis C Institute if you want to do further research.
Where are your stats from? The CDC has vastly different numbers. They reported that about a million people in the US are living with HIV/AIDS. They also list that 4 million or so have HCV. While there are a lot more HepC cases than HIV, the growth rate of HepC has fallen to a tenth of what it was in the 80's (240,000 a year in the 80's to 26,000 a year in 2004). Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that one disease is more important than another but we seem to now have a better control of HepC since we started testing for it in blood and blood products. It is still unacceptable though that there isn't a vaccine for HepC. At least there is finally a CDC recommendation for HepB vaccine at birth. Granted it doesn't help HepC at all but it is another step in the right direction for Hepatitis in general.
CDC/Kaiser sites:
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/c/fact.htm
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=profile&area=Minnesota&category=HIV%2fAIDS&subcategory=Deaths
The numbers I posted should be on the website I linked to.
The disease was not mapped until late 1980's and a test was not available until about 1992 so I am unsure of where the CDC is getting their numbers. They may be including all non-A non B Hepatitis in that estimate. Since the disease takes about 10-20 years to manifest in the form of serious symptoms, cirosis or liver cancer, the people being diagnosed now are most likely those that contrated the disease from before 1992 (when there were reliable tests developed). Those that have contracted the disease recently are not being diagnosed, because they do not know they have it. These may include soldiers returning from war, people who have ever had a manicure, or drug users.
HIV gets a lot of attention and that is why the HVC are comparing the two. It is easier to control the spread of HIV because the virus is much weaker and is not sustainable outside of the body, whereas the HVC virus is much hardier.
Posted by: 10lees at November 27, 2006 08:00 AMSheesh. Thanks for the information. My uncle has some form of Hepatitis, but I do not recall which.
Posted by: babada at November 27, 2006 12:06 PMso the numbers T quoted are from the Hepatic C $200,000 funding results. They are results from the State of Washington ONLY. They are not from the greater USA.
It is NOT CDC numbers. It's also the numbers in Washington State for differing years - if you notice. The years stated for HIV/AIDS is 1982 thru 2006 and the years STATED for HCV is 2006 thru 2006 - so that's only 6 years for HCV.
Well I hope that makes it more clear.
The numbers were mainly taken from hospital death cases. I was talking to the head of the Hep C which Tenley quotes and she said that so often as with Aids in the early years - they only mentioned secondary reasons for deaths and not HCV. Everyone wants privacy. And Dr.s are not always able to be truthful or look for the true reason for a persons death.
They are correcting this and it's a slow process.
There are alot of politics and greed that are difficult to get through.
Thanks for educating your peers T.
Love,
M