NOTE: A surveillance case definition is a set of uniform criteria used to define a disease for public health surveillance. Surveillance case definitions enable public health officials to classify and count cases consistently across reporting jurisdictions. Surveillance case definitions are not intended to be used by healthcare providers for making a clinical diagnosis or determining how to meet an individual patient’s health needs.
An acute illness with a discrete onset of any sign or symptom* consistent with acute viral hepatitis (e.g., fever, headache, malaise, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain), and either a) jaundice, or b) elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels >400IU/L. *A documented negative HCV antibody laboratory test result followed within 6 months by a positive test (as described in the laboratory criteria for diagnosis) result does not require an acute clinical presentation to meet the surveillance case definition.
One or more of the following three criteria:
A case that meets the clinical case definition, is laboratory confirmed, and is not known to have chronic hepatitis C.