Hepatitis C is an important public health issue in the Veteran community. Since 1998, the Veterans Health Administration has initiated and implemented a comprehensive National Hepatitis C Program to screen and treat Veterans for HCV.

Current guidelines recommend that all adults age 18-79 be tested for hepatitis C. Additional risk factors may require more regular screening:

• Using injection drugs
• Obtaining tattoos or body-piercings in non-regulated settings
• Sharing equipment to snort drugs
• 50 or more lifetime sexual partners
• Sexual exposure to an HCV-infected partner
• Recent incarceration

Clinicians are urged to utilize the Hepatitis C Virus Antibody Screening Flow Chart if there is a presence or history of any of the above criteria.

References and Resources

• Summaries of HCV Screening Recommendations
  • U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
    
  • U.S. Centers for Disease Control
• Hepatitis C Virus Testing of Persons Born During 1945-1965: Recommendations From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Annals of Internal Medicine. 2012 Dec;157(11):817-822.
• Hepatitis C Fact Sheets for Patients