Check if you're at Risk of Hepatitis C Virus

Many of us have seen the commercials on television stating that people born from 1945 to 1965 have the highest rate of hepatitis C but most don’t know they’re infected.

This is a very sobering fact stated from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on this disease. The commercials go on to say that someone with hepatitis C can live for decades without any symptoms but over time the disease can cause serious health problems.

This should catch the attention of Baby Boomers. All Baby Boomers should get a blood test from their doctor to determine if they are infected with hepatitis C or not.

New generation being impacted by hepatitis C

New reports from the CDC are warning that hepatitis C infections in the U.S. have nearly tripled over five years, rising from 850 new cases in 2010 to 2,436 in 2015. It is no longer primarily Baby Boomers that are being affected. The age group impacted the most from these new infections is those aged 20-29 years. It is believed to be stemmed from the growing use of injected drugs linked to the current opioid epidemic.

More Americans die from hepatitis C than any other infectious disease, as reported by the CDC. In 2015, almost 20,000 Americans died from hepatitis C related causes, and most were age 55 and older. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine at this time to prevent hepatitis C.