The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is about to update its 2004 recommendations on screening for hepatitis C. Evidence reviews on screening adults, reducing mother-to-infant transmission, and antiviral treatments are available in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The 2004 statement recommended against routine screening in adults not at increased risk and found no evidence for or against screening those at high risk.

The USPSTF’s evidence review on adult screening points out that the CDC‘s recent recommendation to screen all baby-boomers was based on cost-effectiveness analyses and that information on the clinical outcomes of such strategies is needed. Targeting screening of high-risk patients will miss some patients with infection, they observe.

The review on preventing mother-child transmission finds that no intervention has been shown to reduce risk — including the avoidance of breast-feeding.

Also included is a systematic review on antiviral treatments.