Consequences, still
Our Boomer lifestyle choices, discontinued decades ago, may still influence our health. A report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reveals the “number of baby boomers dying from a ‘silent epidemic’ of hepatitis C infections is increasing so rapidly that federal officials are planning a new nationwide push for widespread testing.”
Many Boomers contracted the virus decades ago – through injection drugs or blood transfusions, before blood screening was improved, during the time of AIDS.
New medications are available for the suppression of the virus. The meds are not cheap and they do come with side effects, but may be more appealing than a liver transplant or the agony of treatment for liver cancer.
Watch for a recommendation later this year from the CDC for routine testing for Hep C of people born between 1945 and 1965.