Hepatitis C Cases In Rural Wisconsin Underscore Drug Link

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/05/18/153021416/hepatitis-c-cases-in-rural-wisconsin-underscore-drug-link

Yes, hepatitis C is big among baby boomers. And the feds are moving toward a recommendation that all of them get tested at least once for the infection.

But new hepatitis C cases are cropping up in young people, too, and some of them live in out-of-the-way places that haven't been hotbeds for the illness.

The Wisconsin Division of Public Health noticed a strange uptick to 24 cases a year recently, from eight, or so, annually before. Some cases of the liver disease were bad enough to land people in emergency rooms, an unusual situation. Those cases provided the initial tip that something was up, Marisa Stanley, an epidemiologist with the state told Shots.

Researchers looked at 25 cases of hepatitis C, all involving people under 30, in 2010. The investigators interviewed 17 of them and found that 16 had either injected or snorted illicit drugs. Many were also sharing their gear.