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Most adults in the United States should be screened for hepatitis C, according to guidelines published Monday, as the opioid crisis and more prevalent use of illicit injected drugs have driven a nearly fourfold increase in new cases over the last decade. Despite substantial advances in treatment over the past five years, infections are on the rise. Roughly 44,700 new hepatitis C infections were reported in the United States in 2017, according to federal data. (Gross, 3/2)

Finding infection early is critical now that drugs are available that cure most people after two to three months of treatment. And the price of those costly medications has dropped sharply in recent years. Authorities estimate that only about half of people with hepatitis C know they're infected. The task force concluded that more widespread screening would be cost-saving, giving its recommendation a rating that requires insurance companies to cover testing without patient co-pays. (Neergaard, 3/2)

With a decade-long onset throughout the opioid epidemic, intravenous drug usage has been the primary catalyst of new HCV infections. In a prepared statement, Task Force Chair Douglas K. Owens, M.D., M.S., explained that infected individuals may not know they have HCV. “People with hepatitis-C do not always feel sick and may not know they have it,” Owens continues. “Screening is key to finding this infection early, when it’s easier to treat and cure, helping reduce illnesses and deaths.” (Kelley, 3/2)

The change comes at a critical time -- over the last decade, the most rapid increase in the incidence of acute hepatitis C cases has been in young adults ages 20 to 39 who have injected drugs, Dr. Camilla Graham, an infectious disease physician at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Stacey Trooskin, an infectious disease physician at Penn Medicine, wrote in an editorial that published alongside the recommendation statement in JAMA on Monday. (Howard, 3/2)

The expert panel cited a stark rise in the number of hepatitis C cases over the past decade caused by an increase in injection drug use from opioids. The guidelines were last updated in 2013 and called for screening high-risk individuals and individuals born between 1945 and 1965. (Johnson, 3/2)