Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 30, Number 1—January 2024
Research Letter

Frequency of Children Diagnosed with Perinatal Hepatitis C, United States, 2018–2020

Suzanne M. NewtonComments to Author , Kate R. Woodworth, Daniel Chang, Lindsey Sizemore, Heather Wingate, Leah Pinckney, Anthony Osinski, Lauren Orkis, Bethany D. Reynolds, Cynthia Carpentieri, Umme-Aiman Halai, Caleb Lyu, Nicole Longcore, Nadia Thomas, Aprielle Wills, Amanda Akosa, Emily O’Malley Olsen, Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, Nicola D. Thompson, Suzanne M. Gilboa, and Van T. Tong
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (S.M. Newton, K.R. Woodworth, E.O. Olsen, L. Panagiotakopoulos, N.D. Thompson, S.M. Gilboa, V.T. Tong); Eagle Global Scientific, LLC, San Antonio, Texas, USA (D. Chang, A. Akosa); Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, Tennessee, USA (L. Sizemore, H. Wingate); Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (L. Pinckney, A. Osinski); Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA (L. Orkis, B.D. Reynolds); Chickasaw Nation Industries, Norman, Oklahoma, USA (C. Carpentieri); Los Angeles County Department of Health, Los Angeles, California, USA (U-A. Halai, C. Lyu); New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA (N. Longcore, N. Thomas); New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, New York (A. Wills)

Main Article

Table

Characteristics of 47 children with perinatal hepatitis C in a cohort of 2,266 children from 7 United States jurisdictions, by timing of test, 2018–2020

Characteristics
Children with perinatal hepatitis C
First positive test <18 months of age,* n = 17 (36%)
First positive test ≥18 months of age,† n = 30 (64%)
Pregnant persons
Age at HCV infection in pregnancy, y, median (IQR) 30 (24–33) 27 (23–32)
Race/ethnicity
White, Non-Hispanic 15 (88) 27 (90)
Other 2 (12) 3 (10)
Education
High school graduate and below 7 (41) 21 (70)
Some college and higher 6 (35) 9 (30)
Missing 4 (24) 0
Health insurance at delivery
Public 13 (76) 28 (93)
Private/other/none 4 (24) 2 (7)
Substance use
Any‡ 10 (59) 22 (73)
None 2 (12) 2 (7)
Missing
 5 (29)
 6 (20)
Infants
Neonatal abstinence syndrome§ 4 (24) 12 (40)
Missing data 8 (47) 11 (37)
Neonatal intensive care unit admission 6 (35) 12 (40)
Missing data 1 (6) 0 (0)
Age at first positive test, mo, median (IQR) 7.3 (3.6–11.6) 19.4 (18.7–24.4)

*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. All tests were done by HCV RNA. HCV, hepatitis C virus. †Two infants first tested by positive HCV RNA at ≥18 mo; 28 infants first tested positive by HCV antibody at ≥18 mo. ‡Substance use includes alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, illicit use of opioids, and other illicit substances (eg, methamphetamines, cocaine). §Includes a diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome or drug withdrawal syndrome in infant of dependent pregnant person (ICD-10 code P96.1) during the birth hospitalization.

Main Article

Page created: November 19, 2023
Page updated: December 20, 2023
Page reviewed: December 20, 2023
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external