Hepatitis C Virus Testing of Persons Born During 1945–1965
Authors: Bryce D. Smith, Deborah Holtzman, John W. Ward
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2013)

Letters7 May 2013Hepatitis C Virus Testing of Persons Born During 1945–1965Bryce D. Smith, PhD, Deborah Holtzman, PhD, and John W. Ward, MDBryce D. Smith, PhDFrom Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.Search for more papers by this author, Deborah Holtzman, PhDFrom Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.Search for more papers by this author, and John W. Ward, MDFrom Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-158-9-201305070-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:We agree with Dr. Lynn's assertion that effective screening for a history of injection drug use, receipt of blood products before 1992, and testing for elevated alanine aminotransferase levels would identify most chronic HCV infections among persons born during 1945–1965. The CDC has recommended risk-based screening since 1998 (1). Unfortunately, risk-based screening alone has had limited success, because 45% to 85% of infected persons are unaware of their infection (2). Not only are persons unaware of having had a risk that led to infection, studies have also shown that physicians often do not ask their patients about high-risk ...References1. Recommendations for prevention and control of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and HCV-related chronic disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR Recomm Rep. 1998;47 (RR-19) 1-39. [PMID: 9790221] MedlineGoogle Scholar2. Smith BD, Morgan RL, Beckett GA, Falck-Ytter Y, Holtzman D, Teo CG, et al. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recommendations for the identification of chronic hepatitis C virus infection among persons born during 1945-1965. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2012;61 (RR-4) 1-32. [PMID: 22895429] MedlineGoogle Scholar3. Spradling PR, Rupp L, Moorman AC, Lu M, Teshale EH, Gordon SC, et al. Chronic Hepatitis Cohort Study Investigators. Hepatitis B and C virus infection among 1.2 million persons with access to care: factors associated with testing and infection prevalence. Clin Infect Dis. 2012;55:1047-55. [PMID: 22875876] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Rein DB, Wagner D, Brown K, Fallon M, Federman A, Massoud, et al. Hepatitis C antibody testing and follow-up in primary care settings: a retrospective study of four large, primary care service centers infection among persons born during 1945-1965 in the United States. Presented at the 2012 National Summit on HIV and Viral Hepatitis Diagnosis, Prevention and Access to Care, Washington, DC, 26–28 November 2012. Google Scholar5. Smith BD, Patel N, Beckett G, Ward JW. Comparison of hepatitis C virus infection screening strategies: elevated alanine aminotransferase levels versus birth cohort. Presented at the 2011 American Association for the Study of Liver Disease Liver Meeting, San Francisco, California, 4–6 November 2011. Google Scholar6. Rein DB, Smith BD, Wittenborn JS, Lesesne SB, Wagner LD, Roblin DW, et al. The cost-effectiveness of birth-cohort screening for hepatitis C antibody in U.S. primary care settings. Ann Intern Med. 2012;156:263-70. [PMID: 22056542] LinkGoogle Scholar7. Alter MJ, Kuhnert WL, Finelli L, et al. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidelines for laboratory testing and result reporting of antibody to hepatitis C virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2003;52 (RR-3) 1-13. [PMID: 12585742] MedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.Disclosures: None disclosed. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M12-1787. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoHepatitis C Virus Testing of Persons Born During 1945–1965: Recommendations From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Bryce D. Smith , Rebecca L. Morgan , Geoff A. Beckett , Yngve Falck-Ytter , Deborah Holtzman , and John W. Ward Hepatitis C Virus Testing of Persons Born During 1945–1965 Richard B. Lynn Hepatitis C Virus Testing of Persons Born During 1945–1965 Ephraim Back Metrics Cited byPoor Awareness of Liver Disease Among Adults With NAFLD in the United StatesRacial Disparities in Hepatitis C Treatment Eligibility 7 May 2013Volume 158, Issue 9Page: 705KeywordsAntibodiesBehaviorBirthMorbidityNucleic acidsResearch laboratoriesViremia ePublished: 7 May 2013 Issue Published: 7 May 2013 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2013 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...