898 La Torre G et al. HCV Trends in Italy Figure 3. Trend of Incidence Rates (per 100,000) of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infections in Italy (Age: 15–24 Years), 1996–2006 Figure 4. Trend of Incidence Rates (per 100,000) of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infections in Italy (Age: 25–64 Years), 1996–2006 APC = annual percentage change APC = annual percentage change Figure 5. Trend of Incidence Rates (per 100,000) of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infections in Italy (Age: > 65 Years), 1996–2006 Figure 6. Trend of Incidence Rates (per 100,000) of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infections in Italy (All Age Groups), 1996–2006 APC = annual percentage change APC = annual percentage change examined HCV infection trends among the general Ital- ian population for a 10-year period. In addition, while the majority of studies have described the epidemiology of HCV among speciﬁc groups of people, i.e. blood donors, drug users and health care workers (18-34), only a few studies have described the prevalence of HCV infections considering the general population (35-42). The signiﬁ- cant decrease in HCV infections underlines the behavior- al changes that have taken place in recent years, and the special attention paid to sanitation during medical pro- cedures, even for those performed at home. In fact, the current decrease in the incidence of HCV infection may be attributable to several factors, i.e. improved socio-eco- nomic conditions, smaller family size, introduction of compulsory screening for anti-HCV in blood banks, more sensitive procedures for HCV screening of blood dona- tions and widespread use of disposable syringes (43). Some limitations of this study have to be acknowl- edged. The estimates derived from the Health Informa- tion System could be aﬀected by the open access to the health services and by the poor quality and irregularity of reporting. Therefore, data sources were critically as- sessed to take into account the possibility of under- or overestimation and to ensure that the reports were con- sistent with the epidemiological knowledge about dis- eases. At present, the residual risk of HCV transmission by transfusion is very low in industrialized countries; newly diagnosed cases of HCV infection could be lim- ited to marginal risk factors, i.e. nosocomial infections, vertical transmission and use of intravenous drugs and Hepat Mon. 2011;11(11):895-900