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Position Statement
Hepatitis C Age Cohort Testing
Action Hepatitis Canada (AHC) calls for all adults born between 1945 and 1975 to be offered a one-time blood test for the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Canada’s current screening guidelines recommend HCV testing for people with known risk factors for the infection including: people who use drugs; prisoners; those who were born, traveled or lived in a region with a high prevalence of HCV; people who received healthcare where there is a lack of universal precautions; and people who received blood or blood products in Canada prior to 1992.[1] This risk-based approach to screening has had limited success as it relies heavily on memory and disclosure of past potential exposure to HCV. Under this policy, it is estimated that nearly half of all cases of chronic HCV in Canada remain undiagnosed.[2]
The AHC believes that current risk-based screening recommendations need to be complemented with a recommendation for one-time screening for those born between the years of 1945 and 1975.
This recommendation has also been made by the Canadian Liver Foundation. One-time, voluntary age cohort testing for HCV is also recommended by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and Preventative Services Task Force in the United States of America.
Read more here: http://actionhepatitiscanada.ca/