ATLANTA —
All baby boomers should get a one-time blood test to learn if they have the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
It can take decades for the blood-borne virus to cause liver damage and symptoms to emerge, so many people don't know they're harboring it. Baby boomers account for about two-thirds of the estimated 3.2 million infected Americans.
More than 15,000 Americans die each year from hepatitis C-related illnesses and the number has been growing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Unless we take action, we project deaths will increase substantially," said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, in a call with reporters.
Hepatitis C virus is most commonly spread today through sharing needles to inject drugs. Before widespread screening of blood donations began in 1992, it was also spread through blood transfusions.
The virus can gradually scar the liver and lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer, and is the leading cause of liver transplant. It can trigger damage in other parts of the body, as well.
It's possible some people were infected in ways other than dirty needles or long-ago blood transfusions. Some experts say tattoos, piercings, shared razor blades and toothbrushes, manicures and sniffed cocaine may have caused the virus to spread in some cases.
However it happened, health officials say baby boomers are five times more likely to be infected than other adults.
Officials said they decided to issue the recommendations after seeing the number of Americans dying from hepatitis C-related diseases nearly double from 1999 to 2007.
Another reason: Two drugs hit the market last year that promise to cure many more people than was previously possible.
Previously, testing was recommended only for people considered at highest risk, like current and former injection drug users.
About three percent of baby boomers test positive for the virus, the CDC estimates. Of those, some manage to clear the infection from their bodies without treatment, but still have lingering antibodies that give a positive initial test result. That's why confirmatory tests are needed.
Still, only a quarter of infected people are that lucky. Most have active and dangerous infections, health officials said.
"I have met too many patients who were diagnosed with hepatitis C at the time they developed liver cancer or when they needed a liver transplant," said Dr. Andrew Muir, a Duke University physician who is a leader in an advocacy organization called the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable.
The CDC call for testing is "a bold and important move," Muir said in a statement.
The recommendation applies to people born from 1945 to 1965 who have not already been tested. They should get a blood test at their next visit to the doctor, Frieden said.
The CDC proposed the new guidelines earlier this year and made them final on Thursday.
People
August 17, 2012
CDC to baby boomers: Get tested for hepatitis C
- People
-
- Foundation announces scholarship recipients The Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the Laboratory Control Ltd. Health Career Scholarship for the 2013-2014 school year. Since 2004, when the program was developed, over $246,000 has been provided in schola
-
Kid's World holds art gala
On the evening of May 16, families filled a classroom on the IHCC campus to attend the Kid's World Preschool Young At Art Gala. The exhibit featured art created by the preschoolers in Ms. Johnson's four-year-old preschool class as part of their Art S
-
Centerville educators attend Des Moines meeting
Five early childhood teachers from Kid's World recently attended the Iowa Project Group Meeting in Des Moines. The educators implemented the Project Approach at the Center several years ago. Educators from across the state meet annually to share do
- This Week MONDAY 20 CENTERVILLE LEGION?POST 214, meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Continental at St. Joseph's in the meeting room to the right of the V.A. office. APPANOOSE COUNTY WEEKLY MEALS, invites everyone to enjoy a free meal and fe
- Four Overall Champions at DXP Dance X-pressions' competition team attended Talent On Parade dance competition in Des Moines April 3-7. This regional competition compares to most national competitions spanning across five days with more than 1,000 entries competing. DXP's team of
- Friends of Drake Library meet The Friends of the Drake Library met at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 30. Action was taken on a handful of subjects. Announcement was made that through Mike Bogle, the Centerville Fire Department and Mercy Medical Center, the library will be given a defibr
-
Dagat awarded $2,000 scholarship from Iowa Masons
Lei Alena M. Dagat, a senior at Centerville High School in Centerville, has been awarded a $2,000 scholarship from the Grand Lodge of Iowa, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Lei Alena was one of 60 outstanding Iowa high school students selected to re
- THIS WEEK MONDAY 13 CENTERVILLE LEGION POST 214, meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Continental at St. Joseph's in the meeting room to the right of the V.A. office. APPANOOSE COUNTY WEEKLY MEALS, invites everyone to enjoy a free meal and fe
- Correction In the Thursday, May 9 article entitled "The Corner Café in Moravia," a paragraph was inadvertently left out by the author. The story should have included the following. "Aleta and Lige Albertson owned and operated the Corner Café from 1953 until th
- Blood drive successful Thanks to all the wonderful blood donors who volunteered their time to make a life-saving blood donation; also, to the committed volunteers that organized and sponsored this drive. They were Rose Cunningham, Larry Bettis, Daily Iowegian, KCOG, Commun
-
Royal Neighbors deliver May Day baskets
Hi everybody hopefully you got to enjoy some of the beautiful weather while it lasted. I am learning that there is no way to ever figure our weather out around here. After eight years of living in Exline, I have come to believe we have a strange dome
- Nominations sought for lifetime achievement award Iowa Department on Aging Director, Donna Harvey, issued a call for nominations for the 2013 Betty Grandquist Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes an Iowan who has made a significant contribution to achieving excellence in the field of he
- Students get in motion Photos by Krystal Fowler/Daily Iowegian Go The Distance Day was held Friday, May 3 as a part of the Live Healthy Iowa program for kids. The event was used to get children to engage in an extra 30 minutes of physical activity, on top of sports, or phy
- Heirloom Gardening 101 The Monroe County Master Gardeners and Friends will have Lucas County Horticulturist Robin Montgomery Kennedy present a program tonight at 6:30 p.m. on Heirloom Gardening. Robin will touch on the definition, history, reasons to plant heirloom varieti
- The Corner Café in Moravia The Corner Café came into existence in the late 1860s. It was built of local brick and had a full basement and was two stories high. It was 50 feet wide and 100 feet long, taking up the entire piece of land it was built on, anchoring the northwest co
- More People Headlines
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
Former Rep. Weiner Running for New York Mayor
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore
Raw: Aerial View of Moore Tornado Damage
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
Protests Outside Cincinnati IRS Office
New Xbox One Entertainment Console Unveiled
