While the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended hepatitis C testing for baby boomers in 2013, rates of screening among this population still remained low two years later, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
For the study, researchers analyzed responses from nearly 24,000 individuals born between 1945 and 1965 included in the National Health Interview Survey. From 2013 to 2015, hepatitis C testing prevalence among this population increased slightly — from 12.3 percent to 13.8 percent — yet still remained low.
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"These findings underscore the need for increased awareness for HCV (hepatitis C virus) testing among healthcare providers and baby boomers and other innovative strategies such as state-mandated HCV testing," wrote the study's authors.
Approximately 3.5 million people in the United States have hepatitis C, and 80 percent of those infected are baby boomers.
The CDC has been ramping up its public education campaign regarding hepatitis C screening for baby boomers this year, as the virus can lie dormant for 20 years or more before causing liver damage, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
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