Hepatitis C virus
All U.S. adults should be tested for hepatitis C, the task force says All U.S. adults should be tested for hepatitis C, the task force says MONDAY, March 2, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Every adult in the United States must be tested for hepatitis C as part of their basic health care, an influential panel of preventive medicine experts notes. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. U.S. (USPSTF) now recommends testing for hepatitis C infection be done on all people ages 18 to 79, the group announced Monday. Hepatitis C infections have soared as a result of the opioid epidemic, and heroin users spread the virus when sharing needles, commented a member of the task force, Dr. Michael Barry is the head of Massachusetts General Hospital's Informed Medical Decision Program. An estimated 2.4 million Americans now live with chronic hepatitis C, according to the USPSTF. There were an estimated 44,700 new infections in 2017, almost four times as many cases as in 2010. Dr. Douglas Dieterich, he...