CDC: Baby boomers should be tested for hepatitis C

Video: CDC: Boomers must get tested for hepatitis C

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   >>> we mentioned at the top of the broadcast this health warning tonight for an entire american generation. it comes from the feds. it's targeted at the millions of baby boomers in this country. it's a story we've been following here regularly. our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman here with us in the studio with the very latest. what is this about?

   >> reporter: today the government came out and very emphatically said that all baby boomers , regardless of their risk, anybody in their 40s, 50s, or 60s, anybody born between 45 to 65 needs to get the test. the government basically today recommends that everyone step up to the plate and no one be exempted. it's estimated that 2 million baby boomers , one in 30, is infected with hepatitis c and probably doesn't know it so the test is a one-time blood test added to the medical checklist. the cdc expects the one-time testing will identify more than 800,000 additional cases of hepatitis c . that means this is a real health concern . there are treatments on the market that can take care of hepatitis c and that's important because it causes liver cancer , liver failure , the need for transplants, and while there are medications on the market there is a new one on the way in pill form. this is a genuine wakeup call . anyone born between 1945

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