The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched the next phase of its national Know More Hepatitis Campaign, which targets the over-50 population, according to a press release from the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable.

Know More Hepatitis specifically calls for all baby boomers—people born between 1945 and 1965—to get a one-time screening for the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The campaign hopes to eventually fully implement the CDC’s 2012 recommendation that everyone in this age group to get tested for HCV.

Watch this video for more about the campaign:



Baby boomers are five times more likely to have the viral liver disease than other adults, making up as much as 75 percent of the country’s estimated 3.2 million hep C cases. Researchers believe as many as half of all boomers living with HCV do not know they have the virus.  

The new phase of the CDC’s campaign introduces an array of print, radio and television public service announcements, as well as airport dioramas, billboards and mass transit ads. The CDC has also developed a number of online tools and resources for local educators to use on their websites, including downloadable posters, infographics, risk assessments, radio scripts, fact sheets and more.

People living with HIV should also get tested for hepatitis C. About 25 percent of HIV-positive people in the United States also have HCV. Coinfection with HIV can triple the risk for liver disease, liver failure and liver-related death from hep C.

For more information, visit cdc.gov/knowmorehepatitis or check out @cdchep on Twitter. Use the hashtags #KnowHepC and #HepC to join the conversation.