HepVu maps the prevalence of hepatitis C

While hepatitis C doesn't grab headlines like HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis, the disease claimed more lives in the U.S. than the combined total of 60 other reportable infectious diseases in 2013, according to the CDC. Compounding the burden, about half of the 3.5 million Americans infected with hepatitis C don't know it.

Researchers at Rollins partnered with CDC counterparts to develop a tool to help curb the hepatitis C epidemic. HepVu is an online interactive map that shows the prevalence of the disease and mortality rates by state. Since the type of robust surveillance system that is in place to track HIV/AIDS is lacking for hepatitis C, HepVu offers a first-time look at this level of information. Patrick Sullivan, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Epidemiology and the project's principal investigator, says he hopes the tool can be used to help policymakers allocate resources to combat the disease.

Hepatitis C is an infection with few symptoms that, if untreated, can lead to liver cancer or cirrhosis. Baby Boomers account for 75 percent of hepatitis C infections, although many remain unaware. This cohort may have become infected during medical procedures in the years after World War II, when procedures involving injections and transfusions were not as sophisticated, according to a study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The opioid epidemic has spiked a new wave of infections. From 2010 to 2014, new cases of hepatitis C in the U.S. jumped 250 percent.

Eight states—California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio, and Washington—made up more than 50 percent of all people living with evidence of hepatitis C. The West had the highest regional rate, with 10 out of 13 states having rates above the national average. The South had the most people with hepatitis C (1,157,400).

As with AIDSVu—a similar tool developed by Rollins researchers that charts the prevalence of HIV/AIDS by state, county, and city—HepVu helps people understand the severity of the epidemic in their neighborhood.