CDC RECOMMENDS THOSE BORN BETWEEN 1945-1965 BE TESTED FOR HEPATITIS C

FROM: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
New CDC Vital Signs: Hepatitis C Testing

A new multi-area study suggests that only half of Americans with hepatitis C receive complete testing for the virus.
Approximately three million Americans are living with hepatitis C and up to 75 percent don’t know they are infected – placing them at serious risk for liver disease, cancer, and death.

Only half of Americans identified as ever having had hepatitis C received follow-up testing showing that they were still infected, according to an analysis of data from a multi-area study published today. This data suggest that even among individuals who receive an initial antibody test, as many as half do not know for sure if they still carry the virus.

The vast majority of persons living with hepatitis C are baby boomers (individuals born from 1945 through 1965). In fact, the snapshot of diagnosed hepatitis C cases and deaths provided by this analysis underscores the severe impact among this population.

CDC is issuing updated guidance to reinforce current recommendations for hepatitis C testing and to ensure people infected with hepatitis C are properly tested and identified. Testing all baby boomers properly is critical to stem the increasing toll of death and disease from hepatitis C in this nation.
CDC recommends that everyone in the U.S. born from 1945 through 1965 be tested for hepatitis C in order to increase the proportion of those who know they are infected and linked to care. CDC also recommends that other populations at increased risk for hepatitis C get tested.