HCV in Pregnant Women on Rise Increased risk of HCV infected infants
by Pippa Wysong
Contributing Writer, MedPage Today
Contributing Writer, MedPage Today
An estimated 1% to 2.5% of pregnant women in the United States are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), which translates to about 4,000 new cases yearly. This also comes packaged with about a 6% risk of mother-to-infant transmission.
Worrisomely, the rates are increasing, with various studies adding to the discussion about screening for at-risk pregnant women and related to managing and treating them.
According to Raymond Chung, MD, director of Hepatology and the Liver Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a recent co-Chair of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases-Infectious Diseases Society of America HCV Guidance Panel, screening with an HCV antibody assay is recommended for pregnant women with known or suspected risk factors for HCV infection.
"Confirmatory HCV RNA testing is recommended for women with a positive screening test," he told MedPage Today.
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