Hepatitis and Hispanic Americans

  • In 2020, Hispanics were 30% more likely to die from viral hepatitis as compared to non-Hispanic whites.1
  • Despite having lower case rates of hepatitis C, Hispanics were 10% more likely to die from that disease than non-Hispanic whites in 2022.2

Viral Hepatitis

Death due to viral hepatitis, age-adjusted rates per 100,000 population, 2020
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male1.51.11.4
Female0.80.61.3
Both Sexes1.20.91.3
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2023. Deaths: Final Data for 2020. National Vital Statistics Report, vol. 72, no. 10. Table 10.

Hepatitis A

Reported cases of hepatitis A, rate per 100,000 population, 2022
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
0.60.61.0
CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 1.2.

Hepatitis B

Reported cases of acute hepatitis B, rate per 100,000 population, 2022
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
0.40.60.7
CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 2.2.
Newly reported cases of chronic hepatitis B, rate per 100,000 population, 2022
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio 
1.61.80.9
CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 2.6.
Deaths with hepatitis B listed as a cause of death, rate per 100,000 population, 2022
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
0.30.31.0
CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 2.8.

Immunization (Hepatitis B)

Adults ages 19–49 who received three doses of the hepatitis B vaccination, percentage, 2018
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
33.143.60.8
Source: CDC, 2021. Vaccination Coverage among Adults in the United States, National Health Interview Survey, 2018. Supplementary Box 3, Table 2.
Adolescents ages 13–17 who received three doses of the hepatitis B vaccination, percentage, 2021
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
90.192.91.0
Source: CDC, 2021. Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years — United States, 2021. Supplementary Table 1.
Children ages 19–35 months who received three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine, 2017
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
91.391.11.0
Source: CDC, 2018. Vaccination Coverage Among Children Aged 19–35 Months — United States, 2017. Supplementary Table 1.

Hepatitis C

Reported cases of acute hepatitis C, rate per 100,000 population, 2022
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
1.01.50.7
CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 3.2.
Newly reported cases of chronic hepatitis C, rate per 100,000 population, 2022
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio 
13.131.30.4
CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 3.6.
Deaths with hepatitis C listed as a cause of death, rate per 100,000 population, 2022
HispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
3.12.71.1
CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 3.8.

1 Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2023. Deaths: Final Data for 2020. National Vital Statistics Report, vol. 72, no. 10. Table 10. (back)

2 CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 3.8. (back)