Hepatitis C outbreak leads to growing concern in Minnesota

A total of 12 individuals residing in Hastings, Minnesota were recently connected to a hepatitis C outbreak, which may have been caused by the sharing of needles used for heroine injections. The individuals who tested positive for disease were aged 16 to 26, which is one of the highest at-risk population groups in the U.S. for similar diseases, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

State health officials report that from 2008 to 2009, 24 people were diagnosed with the disease, and during the last decade, heroine addiction-related deaths have also been on the rise in Minnesota. The spread of hepatitis C in these communities has led many school systems to improve their sexual health and drug prevention classes, the Hastings Star Gazette reports.

Drug use among young people has become a growing concern, but the spread of diseases is also more likely during unprotected sex. A sexually transmitted disease (STD) that shows minimal immediate symptoms, hepatitis C can lead to a higher death rate than most other related diseases.

For example, liver damage caused by hepatitis C causes between 8,000 and 10,000 deaths each year in the U.S., and these patients account for more than 4,000 liver transplants performed nationwide, according to the CDC.