Has your physician recommended that you be screened for hepatitis C at your recent physical exam?
What is hepatitis C and why is this coming up now?
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver.
The liver can become inflamed for many reasons including medication, diet, alcohol, toxins, and diseases. One of the common causes of hepatitis is viral illness. There is a whole alphabet of viruses that attack the liver and cause inflammation. Each of them behaves a little differently and each has a different name. We call them hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E.
Hepatitis A, B, and D are all preventable with immunizations, but no vaccine currently exists for hepatitis C.
Many people live with chronic hepatitis C without even knowing they have it, but the virus can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer and result in death.
In fact, it is estimated that 400,000 people die from hepatitis C related complications each year (globally, according to the World Health Organization).
In the United States, it’s the most common cause of death from a reportable infectious disease. It is mostly transmitted through exposure to infected blood (think needle sharing, piercings, tattoos, and transfusions), though it can sometimes spread through unprotected sex and childbirth.
The good news is that there are anti-viral treatments which can cure Hepatitis C, and the cure rate for some of these anti-viral regimens is up to 98%.
Who should get screened and why now? There are 3 times more cases of acute hepatitis C infection now than there were 10 years ago, and more young people are affected now than in the past. In response to this public health crisis, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated their recommendations for screening. Screening is now recommended for all adults from age 18 to 79 at least once. The USPSTF just released this final recommendation in March 2020.
