Baby boomers and hepatitis C: What ’s the connection?

Hepatitis C is a viral infection that is spread through contact with infected blood. Hepatitis C infection can be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic). Most people with acute hepatitis C eventually develop chronic hepatitis C. Hepatitis C usually does not cause symptoms, which is why most people with hepatitis C don’t know that they are infected. Left untreated, hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure. Why screen baby boomers for hepatitis C? Why are we recommending screening of adults in the baby boomer generation? To understand this, it’s worth reviewing how we got here. In 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established HCV testing guidelines based on the presence of risk factors. These included receipt of blood transfusions prior to 1992, when blood donations began to be screened for HCV; receipt of clotting factors before 1987; hemodialysis (a process that filters the blood when the kidneys are not working properly); and injection drug use. However, not many cases of hepatitis C were diagnosed. This could likely be traced to a combination of doctors not being adequately engaged, and patients in denial of their risky behaviors. To identify more cases, the CDC jettisoned its old approach and moved to a blanket recommendation to screen all adults born between 1945 and 1965, the baby boomers. The rationale for this was that more than three out of every 100 baby boomers were infected with HCV. This was at least fi...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Healthy Aging Infectious diseases Screening Source Type: blogs