Posted by Dr. Stephen Vogt ⋅ February 6, 2012
Deaths due to hepatitis C in the United States have already reached 15,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This number is expected to rise to 35,000 hepatitis C deaths per year within the next two decades. Baby Boomers account for 75 percent of hepatitis C virus (HCV) fatalities.
An estimated 1.6 million U.S. adults ages 40-64 are currently infected with the hepatitis C virus but have no idea of their disease state. How could this happen? The answer is partly due to the silent nature of HCV infection: it can be without any symptoms for up to 20 years. The other part of the answer is connected to the current standards that limit HCV screenings to those with conventional high risk factors (such as IV drug use, blood transfusion before 1992, or unprotected sex with a known HCV-infected person). Yet a huge portion of people (many of them Baby Boomers) do not fit this risk factor profile.
As I pointed out last year, in “Call for Wider Hepatitis Screenings ,” we can stem this rising tide of HCV deaths by instituting more HCV screenings, particularly age-based screenings for all Baby Boomers. Today, we are getting one step closer to changing the HCV screening process from the current one based on risk factors to a screening process based on birth year.
The CDC is poised to recommend a one-time age-based screening for all Baby Boomers. A new CDC-funded study took a close look at the cost-effectiveness of an aged-based screening for HCV. It was clear that a one-time screening (followed by treatment for infected individuals) for everyone born from 1945-1965 would pay off both financially and in healthier lives. The cost-effectiveness from widespread HCV screenings would be in line with cervical cancer and cholesterol screenings.
A switch to an aged-based screening couldn’t come at a better time. Screening tests are faster and easier than ever (answers can come back as quick as 20 minutes ) and treatments today clear this virus in greater numbers of infected people, giving a meaningful cure to most patients.
Stephen C Vogt, PharmD
President and CEO
BioPlus SP
Source:
Rein DB, Smith BD, Wittenborn JS, et al. The Cost-Effectiveness of Birth-Cohort Screening for Hepatitis C Antibody in U.S. Primary Care Settings. Ann Intern Med November 4, 2011 [epub ahead of print]. Highleyman L. AASLD: Deaths Due to Hepatitis C Now Exceed HIV Deaths. Report from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Liver Meeting. November 15, 2011.
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