Study finds that hepatitis C in the U.S. could become 'rare' within 20 years
![Study finds that hepatitis C in the U.S. could become 'rare' within 20 years](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4GvEor527xCJSk4a7CSqud-900-80.jpg)
Researchers using a computer model say that hepatitis C could become "rare" — affecting no more than 1 in 1,500 people — in the United States by 2036.
Right now, roughly 1 in 100 people have hepatitis C in the U.S., but newer medicines and expanded screenings for adults born between 1945 and 1965 could make the number drop. A study conducted by Jagpreet Chhatwal of The University of Texas MC Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and colleagues modeled the effect the medicines and screenings will have on hepatitis C, and found that it would become rare by 2036, and could even reach that goal by 2026 if there were stricter guidelines for screenings.
The researchers wrote in Annals of Internal Medicine that the screening regimen now would identify close to 487,000 cases of hepatitis C infection within the next 10 years, and using current conditions, 124,200 cases of liver cirrhosis, 78,800 cases of liver cancer, 126,500 liver-related deaths, and 9,900 liver transplants could be prevented by 2050.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We were pleasantly surprised that in the next 22 years we could make this a rare disease," Chhatwal told Reuters.
Hepatitis C is a viral infection of the liver that, if left untreated, can lead to liver damage, liver failure, and cancer. The researchers say it costs $6.5 billion a year to care for the 3.2 million people in the United States with hepatitis C.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Today's political cartoons - February 9, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - personal data, trans athletes, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 tit-for-tat cartoons about Trump's trade war
Cartoons Artists take on Canada, Mexico, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The catastrophic conflict looming in the heart of Africa
In the Spotlight Showdown between DR Congo and Rwanda have been a long time coming
By The Week UK Published
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study finds
Speed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pill
Speed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
California declares bird flu emergency
Speed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study finds
Speed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes risk
Speed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published