According to the Centers for Disease Control, two out of three people with hepatitis C in America are baby boomers - part of the generation born between 1945 and 1965. Now, the CDC is proposing a recommendation that all baby boomers get tested for the virus.
Cheryl Day is a proud baby boomer. As she takes a lesson to learn how to use the the internet, she now finds herself wondering if she should be looking up information about hepatitis C. Doctors with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are proposing each and every baby boomer get tested for the liver disease.
"It was the eras we grew up in with a lot of sexual activity, not the knowledge we have today," said Day.
CDC officials say baby boomers account for two out of three Americans infected with the blood-borne virus. Doctors say recent data show that from 1999 to 2007 there was a 50-percent increase in the number of Americans dying from hepatitis C.
"Not all experts agree with the CDC recommendation because most people do not have Hepatitis C," said medical expert Dr. Bruce Hensel. "But the basis for the recommendation is there is no downside getting the test."
Hepatitis C can scar the liver and eventually lead to cirrhosis or cancer. Doctors say drug users and people who received blood transfusions are usually at risk. Cheryl Day is not sure if she'll get tested. "I'd have to talk to my physician about it," she said.
About one out of every 30 baby boomers has been infected with the virus and most don't know it. The new testing recommendation is expected to become final later this year.
