Impact of Illicit Drug-associated Hepatitis on Viral Hepatitis Morbidity Reports in the United States

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Abstract
Morbidity statistics on viral hepatitis submitted by state health departments to the Center for Disease Control reveal peaks in incidence during the winter and spring of epidemiologic years (EY) 1954 and 1961. From EY 1966 through EY 1971, there has been a steady annual increase in reported incidence of hepatitis. During this six-year period, the characteristic seasonal fluctuations in reports of viral hepatitis have been dampened, rates of urban hepatitis have increased, and 15- to 24-year-old males have emerged as a high-risk group. The changes in the epidemiologic pattern of reported viral hepatitis have occurred simultaneously with a growing problem of illicit parenteral use of drugs in the United States. Viral hepatitis is recognized as a frequent complication of parenteral drug use. The recent lack of seasonality in reported cases of hepatitis, the urban localization of cases, and the emergence of young adult males as a high-risk group seem to reflect the increasing importance of drug-associated hepatitis as a major factor in the epidemiology of the disease.

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