Appalachia gripped by hepatitis C epidemic, bracing for HIV

In a study last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that hepatitis C cases across four Appalachian states — Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia — more than tripled between 2006 and 2012. Kentucky leads the nation in the rate of acute hepatitis C, with 4.1 cases for every 100,000 residents, more than six times the national average, according to the CDC. Havens has tracked 503 drug users since 2008. Now 70 percent of them have hepatitis C. http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ap/health/appalachia-gripped-by-hepatitis-c-epidemic-bracing/nmWBd/