A new report from the Iowa Department of Public Health shows cases of Hepatitis C have shot up nearly 200 percent in Iowa since the year 2000, with many cases here in Woodbury County.
The Health Department’s Randy Mayer says the number of cases went from 754 in 2000 to 22-hundred 35 cases in 2015.
Mayer says Baby Boomers — those born between 1945 and 1965 — make up one group that has the most positive tests.
OC…..other people” ;16
The number of diagnoses among those between the ages of 18 and 30 has more than quadrupled since 2009, with 303 diagnoses in 2015.
Mayer says drug use appears to be one of the reasons for the rise in the cases among young people.
OC……..that process” :26
Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver cancer and liver transplants in the U-S. Mayer says those who are older may have contracted the disease and not know it.
OC……….diagnosed soon” :18
Hepatitis C can go undetected for years.
The public health study found more than 55 percent of Iowans between the ages 18 and 64 who have Hepatitis C live in one of six counties: Polk, Linn, Scott, Woodbury, Pottawattamie, and Black Hawk.
