Evaluating Ascertainment of Hepatitis C Cases and Deaths by Electronically Linking Surveillance and Vital Statistics Data in Utah

Introduction While HCV infections are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in the United States, deaths due to HCV may not be detected well in Utah’s surveillance system. New interferon-free drugs for HCV can result in virologic cure with limited side effects, but treatment is expensive. It will therefore be increasingly important that public health accurately document the prevalence of HCV and outcomes, such as death, to inform policy makers and others who are responsible for allocating resources. A previous analysis conducted in Utah determined that a two-step methodology electronically linking death certificate data to HIV surveillance data was effective at ascertaining previously unreported deaths and cases in the HIVinfected population.1 Similarly, linkage to death certificate records may also provide an important avenue to identify deaths among the chronic HCV cases included in surveillance data and identify cases of HCV not previously reported to public health in Utah.