CDC to baby boomers: Get tested for hepatitis C
ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. health officials want all baby boomers to get tested for hepatitis C.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released draft recommendations calling for all baby boomers to get a one-time blood test for the liver disease. That's everyone born from 1945 to 1965.
The hepatitis C virus is most commonly spread through sharing needles to inject drugs. Before 1992, it was also spread through blood transfusions.
The CDC says more than 2 million baby boomers are infected. They account for more than three-quarters of all Americans living with the virus. The virus can take decades to cause damage and many people don't know they are infected.
The testing recommendation is expected to become final later this year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released draft recommendations calling for all baby boomers to get a one-time blood test for the liver disease. That's everyone born from 1945 to 1965.
The hepatitis C virus is most commonly spread through sharing needles to inject drugs. Before 1992, it was also spread through blood transfusions.
The CDC says more than 2 million baby boomers are infected. They account for more than three-quarters of all Americans living with the virus. The virus can take decades to cause damage and many people don't know they are infected.
The testing recommendation is expected to become final later this year.
Not an illness you want to ignore...
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My grandson had this from the blood transfusions he had while fighting cancer as an infant...he went through the treatments last year, and finished them even though the nausea and other side effects were very debilitating at times.