Vt. Baby Boomers Urged to Test for Hepatitis C - FOX44 - Burlington / Plattsburgh News, Weather & Sports

Vt. Baby Boomers Urged to Test for Hepatitis C

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BURLINGTON, Vt. -

The Vermont Health Department is joining the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in urging that anyone born between 1945 and 1965 get tested for hepatitis C.

Officials say an estimated 12,000 people are living with hepatitis C in Vermont and many aren't aware they have it. It can be detected with a simple blood test.

Three percent of baby boomers are living with the virus, and they make up 75 percent of people with hepatitis C. About 1 to 2 percent of the U.S. population is living with chronic hepatitis C, which is the No. 1 cause of liver cancer and liver transplants.

Causes include shared syringes, blood transfusions or organ donations before 1992, and unsafe tattooing or body piercing.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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