CDC Online Newsroom - Digital Press Kit - New CDC Vital Signs: Hepatitis C Testing

open here please ►
CDC Online Newsroom - Digital Press Kit - New CDC Vital Signs: Hepatitis C Testing

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.

Graphics / Images

• 
  Find out if you have Hepatits C - It could save your life.
•  
  Hepatitis C: Testing baby boomers saves lives
• 
  Baby Boomers (born from 1945-1965): Ask to be tested for Hepatitis C
• 
  Baby Boomers are 5 times more likely to be infected with hepatitis C.
•  
  Millions of Americans have hepatitis c. Most don’t know it. Talk to your doctor about getting tested. Early detection can save lives.
•  
  Three facts you should know about Hepatits C.
•  
  Hepatitis does not descriminate. It affects millions and causes liver cancer. Talk to your doctor about testing. Early detection saves lives.
• 
  Find out if you have Hepatits C - It could save your life.
•  
  Hepatitis C: Testing baby boomers saves lives

•  
• 
• 
•  
•  
•  
• 

1. Page:  
2. 1
3. 2

• Previous
• Next

Related Links

• Most Relevant
• CDC Related Links
• Additional Resources

• Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2013) : “Vital Signs: Evaluation of Hepatitis C Virus Infection Testing and Reporting — Eight U.S. Sites, 2005–2011" | PDF 258KB] 
• Vital Signs: Home | May 2013: Hepatitis C:Testing baby boomers saves lives | Vital Signs Factsheet PDF  [1.45MB] | Issues
• Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2013): Testing for HCV Infection: An Update of Guidance for Clinicians and Laboratorians [245KB]
• Press Release: Study suggests only half of Americans with hepatitis C receive complete testing for the virus