Hepatitis C (Acute)

623 cases in 2024 — near the 5-year baseline of ~957.

What is it?

Acute hepatitis C is the initial phase of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, lasting approximately the first 6 months. NYS had 623 acute cases in 2024. About 25–50% of people clear the infection spontaneously; the remainder develop chronic hepatitis C. Unlike hepatitis B, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C, but it is now highly curable with antiviral treatment.

How it spreads

Primarily spreads through sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment. Less commonly through sexual contact, healthcare exposures, and from mother to child during birth. Can be transmitted through shared personal items that may have blood on them (razors, toothbrushes).

Symptoms

Most acute HCV infections cause no symptoms or only mild, nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, and jaundice. This "silent" nature means most people don't know they've been infected until chronic infection is detected on testing.

Who is at risk?

People who inject drugs face the highest risk. Also at risk: people with HIV, men who have sex with men with high-risk behaviors, healthcare workers with needlestick exposures, and infants born to HCV-infected mothers.

What you can do

Based on NYSDOH annual communicable disease report. Threat level reflects 2024 case counts compared to the 5-year baseline.