Hepatitis C Data
Hepatitis C data are displayed in two ways: case counts and rate per 100,000 population. Case counts show the number of people diagnosed with hepatitis C virus per county and statewide. Because hepatitis C is a curable infection, it is possible for someone to get the virus, be cured, and then get the virus again. These data only show people who have been diagnosed, so re-infection is not represented.
Rate per 100,000 population shows the number of cases divided by the population and multiplied by 100,000. Displaying rates gives one an understanding of disease distribution relative to the population of a given area (e.g., county). This often shows a different picture than case counts.
Although county A may have fewer cases than county B, if county A's population is smaller, they have an overall higher disease burden relative to their county's population. Displaying data in this way can show how these infections affect counties with smaller populations. If a county has a case count of 15 or fewer, the rate per 100,000 is not calculated or displayed.
Calculating rates based on small case counts can be misleading because changes in case counts by just one or two cases can drastically change the rate. It may make it falsely appear as though disease burden in a particular county is high.
To select multiple counties click on the first county and then while pressing the control key, click on the other counties you wish to include in the selection. Clicking on a blank area outside the map resets the map to its initial state where all counties are selected.
Use the tabs to see the different data visualizations.