Hepatitis and Black/African Americans

In 2021, non-Hispanic Black or African Americans were 1.4 times more likely to die from viral hepatitis than non-Hispanic whites.1
In 2022, non-Hispanic Black or African Americans were almost twice as likely to die from hepatitis C than non-Hispanic whites.2
In 2022, non-Hispanic Black or African Americans were diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B at more than four times the rate of non-Hispanic whites.3 Non-Hispanic Black or African Americans were also more than twice as likely to die from hepatitis B than non-Hispanic whites.4

Viral Hepatitis

Death due to viral hepatitis, age-adjusted rates per 100,000 population, 2021
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	1.5	1.0	1.5
Female	0.8	0.6	1.3
Both Sexes	1.1	0.8	1.4

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2024. Deaths: Final Data for 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 73, No. 8. Table 11.

Hepatitis A

Reported cases of hepatitis A, rate per 100,000 population, 2022
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
0.8	0.6	1.3

Source: 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
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
1.0	0.6	1.7

Source: 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
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
7.7	1.8	4.3

Source: 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
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
0.7	0.3	2.7

Source: CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 2.8.  

Immunization (Hepatitis B)

Adults ages 19–49 who received at least one dose ever of the hepatitis B vaccine, percentage, 2021
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
34.3	48.4	0.7

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2024. Vaccination Coverage among Adults in the United States, National Health Interview Survey, 2021. Table 4. Estimated proportion of adults aged ≥19 years who received hepatitis B vaccination, by age group, increased-risk status, and race and ethnicity.

Adolescents ages 13–17 who received at least three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine (HepB), percentage, 2023
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
92.0	92.5	1.0

Source: CDC. TeenVaxView Interactive.

Children born in 2020 who received at least 3 doses of the hepatitis B (Hep B) vaccine by age 24 months, percentage
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
93.0	92.4	1.0

Source: CDC, 2023. Vaccination Coverage by Age 24 Months Among Children Born in 2019 and 2020—National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2020–2022. Supplementary Table 1.

Hepatitis C

Reported cases of acute hepatitis C, rate per 100,000 population, 2022
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
1.5	1.5	1.0

Source: 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
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
30.6	31.3	1.0

Source: 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
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
4.8	2.7	1.8

Source: CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 3.8.

1 CDC, 2024. Deaths: Final Data for 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 73, No. 8. Table 11. (Back to top)

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

3 CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 2.6. (Back to top)

4 CDC, 2024. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report — United States, 2022.  Table 2.8. (Back to top)

Date Last Reviewed: February 2025