How common is hepatitis A virus infection in the United States?

The incidence of hepatitis A in the US increased more than 10-fold from 2015 to 2019, with over 18,800 cases reported to CDC in 2019. The number of reported cases declined by 47% to 9,952 in 2020. This number is an underestimate of the actual number of infections: CDC estimates that about 19,900 cases actually occurred in 2020.

Between 2012 and 2015 the number of reported hepatitis A infections ranged from approximately 1200 to 1800 cases every year. Beginning in 2016, large foodborne outbreaks led to an increase in the number of cases and sustained, large person-to-person outbreaks began, primarily driven by infections among unvaccinated people who use drugs and people experiencing homelessness and their contacts. Since then, persistent person-to-person outbreaks have led to substantial increases in hepatitis A infection, with 37 states reporting almost 45,000 cases over the 7 years between the beginning of the outbreaks in 2016 and June 2023. The rate of new cases has declined substantially since the peak in 2019. More information regarding ongoing multistate outbreaks can be found here: www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/outbreaks/ongoing-hepatitis-a.