Updated NYS Hepatitis C Screening Recommendations for Adults
Beginning May 3, 2024, New York State will require that all persons 18 years of age and older and persons under the age of 18 with a risk, be offered a screening test for hepatitis C. These new requirements align New York State with the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HCV screening recommendations. Nationally, new cases of hepatitis C are on the rise, particularly among adults of reproductive age. The number of new hepatitis C infections has doubled since 2014. Injection drug use is the main risk for new infections. In 2022, most hepatitis C infections occurred among adults 20-39 years of age. Almost half of the 2.2 million people living with hepatitis C are unaware of their infection. An estimated 116,000 New Yorkers are living with hepatitis C. Testing is the first step to accessing curative treatment. Without treatment, approximately 15-20% of adults with chronic hepatitis C infection will develop progressive liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.
Hepatitis C infection can be cured. Over 90 percent of people infected with hepatitis C can be cured with 8-12 weeks of oral therapy. Treatment of hepatitis C is associated with reductions in mortality among persons with chronic hepatitis C.
The New York State hepatitis C screening requirements include the following:
- Every individual age eighteen and older, or younger than eighteen, if there is evidence or indication of risk activity, be offered a hepatitis C screening test.
- If the hepatitis C screening test is reactive, a hepatitis C ribonucleic acid test (RNA) must be performed on the same specimen, or a second specimen collected at the same time as the initial hepatitis C screening test specimen, to confirm diagnosis of current infection.
- Individuals with a detectable hepatitis C ribonucleic acid test are offered follow-up hepatitis C health care and treatment or are referred to a health care provider who can provide follow-up hepatitis C health care and treatment.
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