How common is acute Hepatitis C in the United States?

In 2009, there were an estimated 16,000 acute Hepatitis C virus infections reported in the United States.

How common is chronic Hepatitis C in the United States?

An estimated 3.2 million persons in the United States have chronic Hepatitis C virus infection. Most people do not know they are infected because they don’t look or feel sick.

How likely is it that acute Hepatitis C will become chronic?

Approximately 75%–85% of people who become infected with Hepatitis C virus develop chronic infection.

One in one hundred Americans has Hepatitis C: Reuters reported in March of 2014 that a CDC analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 2003–2010 indicated that 1 percent of Americans (2.7 million) older than 6 had chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections that could damage their livers severely with time.