Overview of the situation in 2023

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Overview of the situation in 2023

Worldwide

In 2015, the viremic prevalence for hepatitis C (prevalence of HCV RNA) was estimated at 1% of the global population, or 71.1 million cases.

In 2020, the global viremic prevalence was estimated to be at 56.8 million. This number represents a considerable drop compared to the 2015 estimate, which may be explained by:

Newer and lower estimates of prevalence in the region of Africa;
Increased mortality rates linked to liver-related causes and aging populations.

In spite of this decrease, we are not currently on the right path to meet 2030 global elimination goals 2030 as established by the WHO. ¹^–²

The global incidence rate for hepatitis C is 1.5 million new cases. Additionally, we estimate that HCV is responsible for 290,000 deaths every year.

The geographic distribution of hepatitis C is very heterogeneous.

In Canada

In Canada, the incidence for hepatitis C was estimated at 6736 new infections in 2020, a rate of 18.4 per 100,000 inhabitants.

In 2019, the prevalence of people in Canada with antibodies to hepatitis C was estimated at 1.03%, and those living with chronic (long term) hepatitis C was estimated at 0.54% of the population or 387,000 cases^.³ We estimate that 24% of people living with hepatitis C in Canada are not aware of their viral status.

The cohort of people born between 1945 and 1975 represent up to 75% of people carrying HCV in Canada. This cohort is therefore a priority as it is the most at risk for going undiagnosed.⁴

In Quebec

Since 1990, over 45,000 cases have been declared in Quebec. According to the Public Health Expertise and Reference Centre (INSPQ), the number of declared cases has gradually decreased over the last 20 years. The INSPQ indicates in its report, however, that this number is likely an underestimation due to the complexity of differentiating between acute and recent cases of HCV and calls for better and more precise data to accurately evaluate the incidence rate in Quebec.

Caracteristics of Cases Declared in 2019

En 2019 au Québec, 1 096 cas d’hépatite C aIn 2019 in Quebec, 1096 cases of hepatitis C (acute, recent or unspecified stage) were declared, or 13 cases per 100,000 people. We observe an elevated prevalence amongst men, representing 66% of all declared cases. Men aged between 50 and 54 years and men aged between 55 and 64 have the highest rate of infection (33 and 32 cases per 100 000 people, respectively). Amongst women, the rate is relatively the same for all age brackets between 30 and 64 years.

The most affected regions in Quebec are:

Montreal (22 cases per 100 000);
Outaouais (20 per 100 000);
Estrie (19 per 100 000);
Nunavik (14 per 100 000);
National Capital (14 per 100 000).

While the global rate of declared hepatitis C cases fell by 74% between 2000 and 2019 (passing from 50 to 13 per 100,000 people), the provincial rate remained stable between 2015 and 2019. It even increased by 31% in the Outaouais region, by 25% in the National Capital region and by 16% in the Montreal region.⁵

It is important to emphasize that the collection of and access to data on hepatitis C is a matter of scale.