Hepatitis B in Canada: 2021 surveillance data update
Organization: Public Health Agency of Canada
Type: Infographic
Date published: 2023-12-20
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on reported hepatitis B case counts and rates in 2020 and 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the demand for and access to services related to sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, including testing. This likely contributed to fewer reported cases of hepatitis B casesFootnote 1. As parts of the country experienced various levels of disruptions due to COVID-19 during 2020 and 2021, comparisons of hepatitis B case counts and rates between the provinces and territories may also be inaccurate.
Hepatitis B
In 2021, 3,524 cases of hepatitis B (acute, chronic and unspecified cases combined) were reported from all 13 Canadian provinces and territories for a rate of 9.2 cases per 100,000 people living in Canada.
Reported acute hepatitis B (infections lasting up to six months) case counts and rates in Canada
Figure 1 shows the number and rates of reported acute hepatitis B from 2012 to 2021. The trends in this figure are described below:
- In 2021, a total of 114 acute hepatitis B cases were reported from nine provinces and three territoriesFootnote 2 for a rate of 0.30 cases per 100,000 population
- From 2012 to 2019, the total reported acute hepatitis B rates were mostly stable
- From 2019 to 2021, the total reported acute hepatitis B rate dropped by 38.1%
Reported acute hepatitis B case counts and rates by age group and sex in Canada
Figure 1 and Table 1 show the number and rates of reported cases of acute hepatitis B overall and by sex from 2012 to 2021. Table 2 summarizes the number of reported acute hepatitis B cases, rates and proportions by age and sex in 2021. The trends in this figure and table are described below:
- In 2021:
- males were overrepresented in reported cases of acute hepatitis B, making up 64.9% of all cases
- the rate of reported acute hepatitis B among males was 0.39 cases per 100,000 males, and the rate among females was 0.21 cases per 100,000 females
- among males, the age group of 40 to 59 years had the highest reported acute hepatitis B rate at 0.61 cases per 100,000 males. The largest proportion of cases was also reported in this age group (40.5%).
- among females, the age group of 30 to 39 years had the highest reported acute hepatitis B rate at 0.31 cases per 100,000 females. The largest proportion of cases was reported in the 40 to 59 years of age group (32.5%).
- From 2012 to 2021, rates of reported acute hepatitis B were higher among males than females
- Among males:
- from 2012 to 2018, the reported acute hepatitis B rate fluctuated but were stable overall
- from 2018 to 2021, the reported acute hepatitis B rate dropped by 42.9%
- Among females:
- from 2012 to 2015, the reported acute hepatitis B rate declined by 40.2%
- from 2016 to 2018, the reported acute hepatitis B rate increased by 27.3%
- from 2018 to 2021, the reported acute hepatitis B rate dropped by 43.2%
Note: Acute hepatitis B reporting differed by province and territory from 2012 to 2021. See Table 8 for provincial and territorial acute hepatitis B reporting patterns.
Figure 1 – Text description
Year | Total cases | Male cases | Female cases | Total rate (per 100,000 population) |
Male rate (per 100,000 males) |
Female rate (per 100,000 females) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 177 | 111 | 66 | 0.51 | 0.65 | 0.38 |
2013 | 179 | 117 | 62 | 0.52 | 0.69 | 0.36 |
2014 | 180 | 122 | 57 | 0.52 | 0.71 | 0.33 |
2015 | 147 | 107 | 40 | 0.42 | 0.62 | 0.23 |
2016 | 175 | 123 | 52 | 0.49 | 0.70 | 0.29 |
2017 | 180 | 116 | 64 | 0.50 | 0.65 | 0.35 |
2018 | 194 | 125 | 68 | 0.53 | 0.69 | 0.37 |
2019 | 181 | 115 | 66 | 0.49 | 0.62 | 0.35 |
2020 | 140 | 81 | 58 | 0.37 | 0.43 | 0.31 |
2021 | 114 | 74 | 40 | 0.30 | 0.39 | 0.21 |
National annual acute hepatitis B rates were calculated using the number of acute hepatitis B cases reported to the Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System as numerators and Statistics Canada July 2022 yearly population estimates as denominators. The "total" case count and rate include all males, females and unspecified sex. Acute hepatitis B reporting differed by province and territory from 2012 to 2021 (see Table 8 for provincial and territorial hepatitis B reporting patterns). |
Figure 2 – Text description
Age group (years) | Males | Females | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cases (n) | Rate (per 100,000 males) | Proportion of all male cases | Cases (n) | Rate (per 100,000 females) | Proportion of all female cases | Cases (n) | Rate (per 100,000 population) | Proportion of all reported cases | |
<15 | 2 | 0.07 | 2.7% | 2 | 0.07 | 5.0% | 4 | 0.07 | 3.5% |
15 to 19 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0% |
20 to 24 | 2 | 0.16 | 2.7% | 1 | 0.09 | 2.5% | 3 | 0.12 | 2.6% |
25 to 29 | 4 | 0.30 | 5.4% | 3 | 0.24 | 7.5% | 7 | 0.27 | 6.1% |
30 to 39 | 14 | 0.52 | 18.9% | 8 | 0.31 | 20.0% | 22 | 0.42 | 19.3% |
40 to 59 | 30 | 0.61 | 40.5% | 13 | 0.26 | 32.5% | 43 | 0.44 | 37.7% |
≥60 | 22 | 0.49 | 29.7% | 12 | 0.24 | 30.0% | 34 | 0.36 | 29.8% |
National acute hepatitis B rates by age and sex and overall in 2021 were calculated using the number of acute hepatitis B cases reported to the Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System as numerators and Statistics Canada July 2022, 2021 population estimates as denominators. The "total" case count and rate include all males, females and unspecified sex. In 2021, all reported cases of hepatitis B were identified as male or female. In 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador did not provide acute hepatitis B data. |
Reported acute hepatitis B case counts and rates by province and territory in Canada
In 2021, the national rate of reported acute hepatitis B cases was 0.30 cases per 100,000 people living in Canada. The following provinces and territories that had rates of reported acute hepatitis B above the national rate (Table 6):
- Northwest Territories (data not shown to reduce the risk of identifying individuals)
- New Brunswick (6 cases of acute hepatitis B, 0.76 cases per 100,000 population)Footnote 3
- Manitoba (8 cases of acute hepatitis B, 0.57 cases per 100,000 population)Footnote 3
- Ontario (78 cases of acute hepatitis B, 0.53 cases per 100,000 population)
In 2021, the following provinces and territories had rates of reported acute hepatitis B below the national rate (Table 6):
- Saskatchewan (data not shown to reduce the risk of identifying individuals)
- British Columbia (6 cases of acute hepatitis B, 0.12 cases per 100,000 population)
- Alberta (5 cases of acute hepatitis B, 0.11 cases per 100,000 population)
- Quebec (5 cases of acute hepatitis B, 0.06 cases per 100,000 population)
- Prince Edward Island (0 cases per 100,000 population)
- Yukon (0 cases per 100,000 population)
- Nunavut (0 cases per 100,000 population)
Caution should be used when comparing rates across provinces and territories. Reported rates of acute hepatitis B cases may be inflated in provinces and territories with a relatively small population size. To contextualize rates, it is important to look at the case counts per province and territory (Table 6).
In 2021, the greatest proportion of reported acute hepatitis B cases came from Ontario (78 cases; 68.4%) followed by Manitoba (8 cases; 7.0%)
Reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B (infections lasting longer than six months) case counts and rates in Canada
Figure 3 shows the number and rates of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B from 2012 to 2021. The trends in this figure are described below:
- In 2021, 3,410 (269 more than in 2020) cases of chronic and unspecified hepatitis B were reported by all 13 Canadian provinces and territories for a rate of 8.9 cases per 100,000 people living in Canada
- From 2012 to 2015, the total reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates declined by 14.1%
- From 2015 to 2018, the total reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates were stable
- From 2018 to 2020, the total reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates declined by 37.2%
- From 2020 to 2021, the total reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rate increased by 7.9%
Reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B case counts and rates by age group and sex in Canada
Figure 3 and Table 3 show the number and rates of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B overall and sex from 2012 to 2021. Table 4 summarizes the number of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases, rates and proportions by age and sex in 2021. The trends in the figure and tables are described below:
- In 2021:
- males were overrepresented in the reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B, making up 55.1% of all cases
- the rate of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B among males was 9.9 cases per 100,000 males, and the rate among females was 7.9 cases per 100,000 females
- among males, the age group of 30 to 39 years had the highest reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rate at 19.0 cases per 100,000 males. The largest proportion of cases were reported in the age group of 40 to 59 years (40.4%)
- among females, the age group of 30 to 39 years had the highest reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rate at 16.4 cases per 100,000 females. The largest proportion of cases were reported in the age group of 40 to 59 years (34.4%)
- From 2012 to 2021, the reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates were higher among males than females
- Among males:
- from 2012 to 2015, the rates of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B declined by 13.3%
- from 2015 to 2016, the rate of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rose slightly by 2.3%
- from 2016 to 2020, the rates of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B declined by 41.2%
- from 2020 to 2021, the reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rate increased by 5.6%
- Among females:
- from 2012 to 2014, the rates of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B were stable
- from 2014 to 2015, the rate of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B declined by 14.1%
- from 2015 to 2019, the rates of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B were stable
- from 2019 to 2020, the reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rate dropped by 37.5%
- from 2020 to 2021, the reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rate increased by 11.6%
Note: Chronic and unspecified hepatitis B subtype reporting differed by province and territory from 2012 to 2021. See Table 8 for provincial and territorial chronic and unspecified hepatitis B reporting patterns.
Figure 3 – Text description
Year | Total cases | Male cases | Female cases | Total rate (per 100,000 population) |
Male rate (per 100,000 males) |
Female rate (per 100,000 females) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 5,500 | 3,088 | 2,406 | 15.8 | 17.9 | 13.7 |
2013 | 5,527 | 3,065 | 2,458 | 15.8 | 17.6 | 13.9 |
2014 | 5,193 | 2,769 | 2,415 | 14.7 | 15.7 | 13.5 |
2015 | 4,861 | 2,757 | 2,089 | 13.6 | 15.6 | 11.6 |
2016 | 5,029 | 2,854 | 2,165 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 11.9 |
2017 | 4,951 | 2,822 | 2,119 | 13.5 | 15.6 | 11.5 |
2018 | 4,877 | 2,698 | 2,161 | 13.2 | 14.7 | 11.6 |
2019 | 4,876 | 2,704 | 2,141 | 13.0 | 14.5 | 11.3 |
2020 | 3,141 | 1,768 | 1,352 | 8.3 | 9.4 | 7.1 |
2021 | 3,410 | 1,879 | 1,517 | 8.9 | 9.9 | 7.9 |
National annual acute hepatitis B rates were calculated using the number of chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases reported to the Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System as numerators and Statistics Canada July 2022 yearly population estimates as denominators. The "total" case count and rate include all males, females and unspecified sex. Acute hepatitis B reporting differed by province and territory from 2012 to 2021 (see Table 8 for provincial and territorial hepatitis B reporting patterns). |
Figure 4 – Text description
Age group (years) | Males | Females | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cases (n) | Rate (per 100,000 males) | Proportion of all male cases | Cases (n) | Rate (per 100,000 females) | Proportion of all female cases | Cases (n) | Rate (per 100,000 population) | Proportion of all reported cases | |
<15 | 11 | 0.4 | 0.6% | 8 | 0.3 | 0.5% | 19 | 0.3 | 0.6% |
15 to 19 | 18 | 1.7 | 1.0% | 12 | 1.2 | 0.8% | 30 | 1.5 | 0.9% |
20 to 24 | 65 | 5.1 | 3.5% | 66 | 5.6 | 4.4% | 132 | 5.4 | 3.9% |
25 to 29 | 125 | 9.2 | 6.7% | 154 | 12.1 | 10.2% | 281 | 10.7 | 8.2% |
30 to 39 | 514 | 19.0 | 27.4% | 435 | 16.4 | 28.7% | 951 | 17.8 | 27.9% |
40 to 59 | 760 | 15.3 | 40.4% | 522 | 10.3 | 34.4% | 1,285 | 12.8 | 37.7% |
≥60 | 371 | 8.2 | 19.7% | 307 | 6.0 | 20.2% | 682 | 7.0 | 20.0% |
National chronic and unspecified hepatitis B age rates by sex and overall, in 2021, were calculated using cases reported to the Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System as numerators and Statistics Canada July 2022, 2021 population estimates as denominators. The "total" case count and rate include all males, females and unspecified sex. In 2021, 14 chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases did not have sex data. |
Reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B case counts and rates by province and territory in Canada
In 2021, the national rate of chronic and unspecified hepatitis B was 8.9 cases per 100,000 people living in Canada. The following provinces and territories had rates of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases above the national rate (Table 7):
- British Columbia (845 cases, 16.2 cases per 100,000 population)
- Manitoba (209 cases, 15.0 cases per 100,000 population)
- Yukon (6 cases, 13.9 cases per 100,000 population)Footnote 3
- Nunavut (5 cases, 12.6 cases per 100,000 population)Footnote 3
- Prince Edward Island (16 cases, 9.7 cases per 100,000 population)Footnote 3
- Quebec (794 cases, 9.2 cases per 100,000 population)
In 2021, the following provinces and territories had rates of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases below the national rate (Table 7):
- Ontario (1,075 cases, 7.3 cases per 100,000 population)
- Alberta (309 cases, 7.0 cases per 100,000 population)
- Saskatchewan (82 cases, 6.9 cases per 100,000 population)
- New Brunswick (44 cases, 5.6 cases per 100,000 population)
- Nova Scotia (20 cases, 2.0 cases per 100,000 population)
- Newfoundland and Labrador (5 cases, 1.0 cases per 100,000 population)Footnote 3
- Northwest Territories (0 cases per 100,000 population)
Caution should be used when comparing rates across provinces and territories. Reported rates of chronic and unspecified hepatitis B may be inflated in provinces and territories with a relatively small population size. To contextualize rates, it is important to look at the case counts per province and territory (Table 7).
In 2021, the greatest proportion of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases came from Ontario (1,075 cases; 31.5%), followed by British Columbia (845 cases; 24.8%) and Quebec (794 cases; 23.3%).
Hepatitis B public health messaging
- hepatitis B is preventable through vaccination
- testing for hepatitis B is recommended in the presence of risk factors, during pregnancy and for people who are immunocompromised (see Primary Care Management of Hepatitis B – Quick Reference (HBV-QR) - Canada.ca)
Appendix A: Data tables corresponding to described hepatitis B information
Hepatitis B infection status | Number of cases | Rate per 100,000 population |
---|---|---|
Acute | 114 | 0.3 |
Chronic | 2,833 | 7.5 |
Unspecified | 577 | 2.7 |
Total | 3,524 | 9.2 |
National annual rates of reported acute, chronic and unspecified hepatitis B were calculated using the number of acute, chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases reported to Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System as numerators and Statistics Canada July 2022, 2021 yearly population estimates as denominators. The "total" case count and rate include all males, females and unspecified sex. In 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador did not provide acute hepatitis B data. |
Jurisdiction | Cases (n) | Rate (per 100,000 population) | Proportion of all reported acute hepatitis B cases |
---|---|---|---|
Canada | 114 | 0.30 | 100.0% |
British Columbia | 6 | 0.12 | 5.3% |
Alberta | 5 | 0.11 | 4.4% |
Saskatchewan | DNS | DNS | DNS |
Manitoba | 8 | 0.57 | 7.0% |
Ontario | 78 | 0.53 | 68.4% |
Quebec | 5 | 0.06 | 4.4% |
Newfoundland and Labrador | NA | NA | NA |
Prince Edward Island | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0% |
Nova Scotia | DNS | DNS | DNS |
New Brunswick | 6 | 0.76 | 5.3% |
Yukon | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0% |
Northwest Territories | DNS | DNS | DNS |
Nunavut | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0% |
Provincial and territorial 2021 acute hepatitis B rates were calculated using the number of acute hepatitis B cases reported to the Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System as numerators and Statistics Canada July 2022, 2021 population estimates as denominators. |
Jurisdiction | Cases (n) | Rate (per 100,000 population) | Proportion of all reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases |
---|---|---|---|
Canada | 3,410 | 8.9 | 100.0% |
British Columbia | 845 | 16.2 | 24.8% |
Alberta | 309 | 7.0 | 9.1% |
Saskatchewan | 82 | 6.9 | 2.4% |
Manitoba | 209 | 15.0 | 6.1% |
Ontario | 1,075 | 7.3 | 31.5% |
Quebec | 794 | 9.2 | 23.3% |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 5 | 1.0 | 0.1% |
Prince Edward Island | 16 | 9.7 | 0.5% |
Nova Scotia | 20 | 2.0 | 0.6% |
New Brunswick | 44 | 5.6 | 1.3% |
Yukon | 6 | 13.9 | 0.2% |
Northwest Territories | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0% |
Nunavut | 5 | 12.6 | 0.1% |
Provincial and territorial 2021 chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates were calculated using the number of chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases reported to the Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System as numerators and Statistics Canada July 2022, 2021 population estimates as denominators. |
PT | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B.C. | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | |||||||||
Man. | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | |||||||||
Que. | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | |||||||||
Y.T. | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | |||||||||
N.B. | Acute, Chronic | |||||||||
Ont. | Acute, Chronic | |||||||||
N.W.T | Acute, Unspecified | |||||||||
Alta. | Acute, Chronic | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | ||||||||
N.L. | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | Unspecified | ||||||||
N.S. | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | Acute, Chronic | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | Acute, Chronic | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | |||||
Nun. | Unspecified | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | Acute, Unspecified | Unspecified | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | |||||
P.E.I. | Unspecified | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | ||||||||
Sask. | Acute, Chronic | Acute, Chronic, Unspecified | Acute, Chronic | |||||||
PT=province or territory, B.C.=British Columbia, Que.=Quebec, Y.T.=Yukon, Alta.=Alberta, Man.=Manitoba, Nun.=Nunavut, N.S.=Nova Scotia, Ont.=Ontario, N.B.=New Brunswick, Sask.=Saskatchewan, N.W.T.=Northwest Territories, N.L.=Newfoundland and Labrador, P.E.I.=Prince Edward Island |
Appendix B: List of supplementary tables
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of reported hepatitis B cases, a 2021 hepatitis B and C in Canada surveillance report was not prepared by the Public Health Agency of Canada. However, the supplementary tables described below are available upon request via sti-hep-its@phac-aspc.gc.ca.
Hepatitis B
- Table 1. Number of reported acute hepatitis B cases among males by age group in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 2. Number of reported acute hepatitis B cases among females by age group in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 3. Reported acute hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 males living in Canada) among males by age group in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 4. Reported acute hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 females living in Canada) among females by age group in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 5. Number of reported acute hepatitis B cases by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 6. Reported acute hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 population) by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 7. Number of reported acute hepatitis B cases among males by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 8. Number of reported acute hepatitis B cases among females by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 9. Reported acute hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 population) among males by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 10. Reported acute hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 population) among females by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 11. Number of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases among males by age group in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 12. Number of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases among females by age group in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 13. Reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 males) among males by age group in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 14. Reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 females) among females by age group in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 15. Number of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 16. Reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 population) by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 17. Number of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases among males by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 18. Number of reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B cases among females by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 19. Reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 population) among males by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Table 20. Reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates (per 100,000 population) among females by province or territory in Canada, 2012 to 2021
- Figure 1. Number of reported cases and rates of acute hepatitis B by age group and sex (years) in Canada, 2021
- Figure 2. Number of reported cases and rates of chronic and unspecified hepatitis B by age group and sex (years) in Canada, 2021
- Figure 3. Reported chronic and unspecified hepatitis B rates by age group and sex (years) in Canada, 2012 to 2021
Notes
Observed differences in the data published here and the data published in provincial and territorial surveillance products may be due to reporting delays, differences in the date data were extracted from the provincial and territorial surveillance databases or other reporting variations. Where such differences are noted, it is recommended that data and results from provincial and territorial products be used. Also, percent changes in rates were calculated using non-rounded numbers.
Related links
Footnotes
- Footnote 1
-
Survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of STBBI prevention, testing and treatment, including harm reduction services, in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Public Health Agency of Canada; 2022. Pub.: 210294.
- Footnote 2
-
In 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador did not provide acute hepatitis B surveillance data.
- Footnote 3
-
Interpret rate with caution since it was calculated as the number of cases among a smaller population. In such instances, it is best to consider the number of cases reported for the jurisdiction.
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