Hepatitis C in Ireland: 2004-2012.

Hepatitis C became a notifiable disease in Ireland in 2004. A total of 11,527 cases of hepatitis C have been notified in Ireland between 2004 and 2012, which averages at 1,281 notifications yearly. The number of hepatitis C notifications in 2012 (n=1036) is the lowest recorded annual figure since 2004. This represents a 33% decline compared to the highest notification figures recorded in 2007 (n=1539) (Figure 1). The higher notification rates seen in earlier years could be partly attributed to hepatitis C cases diagnosed before hepatitis C became notifiable, for whom repeat testing was carried out after 2004.