The Department of Veterans Affairs Wilmington (Del.) Medical Center recently sent a letter to veterans enrolled at the hospital and other clinics across the state, urging them to seek screening for hepatitis C.
The CDC has recommended everyone born between 1945 and 1965 get a blood test for hepatitis C since 2012. This patient demographic is approximately five times more likely than the rest of the population to carry hepatitis C, since transmission of the virus was highest in the U.S. from the 1960s through the 1980s. The virus can lie dormant for 20 years or more before causing liver damage, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The VA is offering hepatitis C screening to enrolled veterans as a part of their preventative healthcare.
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"Given what is known about the risks of hepatitis C, as well as having new therapies with a very high likelihood of cure, it is important for veterans to undergo testing for the virus," said Robert Boucher, MD, chief of staff at the Wilmington VA Medical Center. "Being proactive, getting screened and receiving treatment, if necessary, will help many veterans avoid the serious complications caused by long-standing hepatitis C infection. New drug therapies are extremely effective in curing hepatitis C and have few serious side effects."
Just one week after the distribution of the letter, more than 200 new veterans received screenings for the virus at VA facilities. Three percent of those screened tested positive for infection.
To learn more about hepatitis C, click here.
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