Hepatitis B Virus – Reduce Deaths

At a glance

  • National Progress Report 2025 Goal: Reduce reported rate of hepatitis B-related deaths by 20% or more.
  • Status: Annual target was not met and has not changed or moved away from annual target.
Annual target was not met for reducing deaths from Hepatitis B

Age-adjusted rate* of hepatitis B-related deaths† and annual targets for the United States by year

Source: National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) data in this report are from the 2018–Present Provisional Multiple Cause of Death Data files in the CDC WONDER online database as of November 12, 2023.1
* Rates are per 100,000 population and age-adjusted to the 2000 US Standard Population.
† Cause of death is defined as the underlying cause of death or one of the multiple causes of death and is based on the International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes B16, B17.0, B18.0, or B18.1.2

Summary of findings

There has been some progress in reducing hepatitis B-related deaths since 2013, although progress has stalled in recent years. The age-adjusted hepatitis B-related death rate during 2022 was 0.44 deaths per 100,000 population, above the 2022 target rate of 0.39. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on mortality with the overall age-adjusted death rates increasing during 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. Provisional mortality data in 2022 suggests that while the impact of COVID-19 on overall mortality decreased, COVID-19 remained a leading cause of death.3 For these reasons, the data on hepatitis B-related deaths during 2020–2022 should be interpreted with caution.

Reduction needed to meet 2025 goal

16%

A 16% reduction from the 2022 rate of hepatitis B-related deaths is needed to meet the 2025 goal of 0.37 deaths per 100,000 population.

This reduction can best be achieved by:

  • Implementing CDC's expanded screening and testing recommendations for hepatitis B.
  • Increasing access to care and appropriate treatment for persons with chronic hepatitis B.
  • Developing trainings, technical assistance, and tools for primary care and other health care providers to support implementation of hepatitis B testing and referral to care.
  • Using digital technology and telemedicine models to expand access to specialty health care providers.
  • Developing innovative and useful clinical decision support tools that increase implementation of hepatitis B screening, testing, and linkage to care.
  • Conducting cost-benefit analyses to determine how payer policies can be revised to expand access to hepatitis B services.
  • Supporting research and development for new and more effective antiviral therapies with the goal of a functional cure for hepatitis B.

Technical notes

Data sources: CDC, National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)

Numerator: Number of death records with a report of hepatitis B listed as the underlying or one of the multiple causes of death

Denominator: Total United States Census population

Indicator notes: Death certificates are completed for all deaths registered in the US. Information for death certificates is provided to funeral directors or cremation organizations by attending physicians, medical examiners, and coroners. Death certificates are filed in vital statistics offices within each state and the District of Columbia. Through the NVSS, information from death certificates is compiled by CDC to produce national Multiple Cause of Death data; causes of death are coded in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10).2 National Multiple Cause of Death data from NVSS were obtained and analyzed, and those death records with a report of hepatitis B (ICD-10: B16, B17.0, B18.0, or B18.1) listed as the underlying or one of the multiple (contributing) causes of death in the record were enumerated. Rates were calculated as the number of hepatitis B-related deaths among US residents of the 50 states and District of Columbia divided by the total US Census population using the postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Rates were standardized to the age distribution of the 2000 US Standard Population.4

Goal setting: The 2025 goal of 0.37 hepatitis B-related deaths per 100,000 population is consistent with CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis 2025 Strategic Plan and the US Department of Health and Human Services' 2021–2025 Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan. Annual targets assume a constant (linear) rate of change from the observed baseline (2017 data year) to the 2025 goal (2023 data year).

Limitations: Death data must be interpreted with caution due to the potential for misclassification of ICD-10 codes on the death record, underrepresentation of certain racial and/or ethnic populations in US Census data, and underreporting of viral hepatitis as a cause of death on death certificates.5

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Content Source:
Division of Viral Hepatitis
  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 2018–Present Provisional Multiple Cause of Death on CDC WONDER Online Database. Data are compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed November 12, 2023.
  2. World Health Organization. International Classification of Diseases. Geneva: World Health Organization.
  3. Ahmad FB, Cisewski JA, Xu J, Anderson RN. Provisional Mortality Data – United States, 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023; 72:488–492.
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance – United States, 2022. Published March 2024. Accessed [date].
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Provisional Mortality Statistics by Multiple Cause of Death and by Single Race for 2018 through Present. Accessed January 31, 2024.