Hepatitis in Canada: 2018 surveillance data

Hepatitis B

Number and rate of hepatitis B in Canada, 2018

• 4,783 reported cases of hepatitis B in 2018 (110 fewer cases than in 2017).
• Acute hepatitis B: 189 cases for a rate of 0.5 per 100,000 people.
• Chronic hepatitis B: 3,843 cases for a rate of 10.6 per 100,000 people.
• Unspecified: 751 cases.
• 56% of all hepatitis B cases in 2018 were among males.
• From 2014 to 2018, rates of acute hepatitis B were stable, but rates of chronic hepatitis B decreased by 20%.

Rate of chronic hepatitis B per age group, 2018

• The rates of chronic hepatitis B varied by age group:
  • 0.4 cases per 100,000 people among those less than 15 years old
  • 9.9 per 100,000 in the 15 to 29 age group
  • 23.8 per 100,000 in the 30 to 39 age group
  • 13.5 per 100,000 in the 40 to 59 age group
  • 7.1 per 100,000 among those 60 years old and older
• The highest rates of chronic hepatitis B are among 30 to 39 year olds.

Hepatitis C

Number and rate of hepatitis C in Canada, 2018

• 12,447 reported cases of hepatitis C in 2018 for a rate of 33.6 per 100,000 people (a 13% increase since 2014).
• In 2018, the rate of hepatitis C among males was 41.3 per 100,000 and 25.8 per 100,000 among females.

Rate change of hepatitis C in Canada, 2014 to 2018

• Among 15 to 29 year olds, rates increased by 14% among males and 27% among females.
• Among 30 to 39 year olds, rates increased by 30% among males and 42% among females.
• Among 40 to 59 year olds, rates decreased by 6% among males and 3% among females.
• Among those 60 years old and older, rates increased by 27% among males and 40% among females.
• From 2014 to 2018, female rates increased twice as quickly as male rates.
• Highest increase in rates was among those 30 to 39 years old.

Appendix A: Data tables for hepatitis B and C figures

Table 1: Yearly rate of reported cases of chronic hepatitis B per age group, 2009 to 2018 (rate per 100,000 population)

Year	<15 years	15 to 29 years	30 to 39 years	40 to 59 years	60+ years
2009	2.0	13.8	28.7	16.9	6.7
2010	1.4	12.5	26.5	15.2	7.3
2011	1.3	15.5	28.9	16.3	6.9
2012	1.1	16.0	31.0	17.7	9.0
2013	0.9	14.0	29.0	17.7	10.2
2014	0.6	13.6	26.7	16.5	8.8
2015	0.8	11.2	26.9	15.1	7.8
2016	0.9	11.0	27.9	16.0	7.9
2017	0.4	9.7	25.6	15.2	7.6
2018	0.4	9.9	23.8	13.5	7.1

Table 2: Yearly rate and number of reported cases of hepatitis C, 2009 to 2018 (rate per 100,000 population)

Year	Total number of cases
		Males	Females	Total
2009	42.6	23.3	33.2	11,168
2010	40.0	21.6	31.0	10,553
2011	37.4	21.1	29.5	10,114
2012	36.9	21.5	29.4	10,206
2013	37.5	21.2	29.5	10,363
2014	37.6	21.4	29.6	10,501
2015	38.1	22.6	30.5	10,874
2016	39.3	23.1	31.2	11,273
2017	38.9	24.1	31.6	11,561
2018	41.3	25.8	33.6	12,447

Table 3: Relative change in rate (%) of reported cases of hepatitis C by sex and age group, 2014 to 2018 (rate per 100,000)

Age group	2014 rate (males)	2018 rate (males)	Rate change (males)	2014 rate (females)	2018 rate (females)	Rate change (females)
15 to 29 years	34.7	39.5	14%	32.0	40.8	27%
30 to 39 years	51.9	67.7	30%	31.3	44.4	42%
40 to 59 years	58.6	55.0	-6%	27.1	26.6	-3%
60+ years	31.1	39.6	27%	13.9	19.5	40%