Screening for hepatitis C virus infection in adults.

Background HCV is the most common chronic blood-borne pathogen in the United States. About 78 percent of individuals who test positive for anti-HCV antibody have detectable hepatitis C virus in their blood, indicating chronic HCV infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that there were 16,000 new cases of acute HCV infection in 2009. HCV infection was associated with an estimated 15,000 deaths in 2007. The greatest risk factors for HCV infection are injection drug use and transfusions before 1992. About 75 percent of patients with HCV infection were born between the years of 1945 and 1965, with the highest prevalence (4.3%) in people 40 to 49 years of age in 1999–2002.