To help combat the looming hepatitis C public health issue, the AGA developed I.D. Hep C, a campaign to educate people, especially baby boomers, about hepatitis C and encourage them to speak up and get tested to learn their status.  As part of I.D. Hep C,  we are encouraging people to take a virtual pledge to educate themselves and others about hepatitis C and talk to their health-care provider about getting tested.

It is our hope that through I.D. Hep C,  more people will learn their hepatitis C status so that those who are unknowingly living with the disease can take action and get treated, because unlike many other infectious diseases, for many patients, hepatitis C can be cured.

As a part of the I.D. Hep C campaign, the AGA recently released findings from a national online survey of baby boomers conducted by Harris Interactive, which revealed a lack of knowledge about hepatitis C, which carries a significant risk, and a gap in conversation between health-care providers and patients about hepatitis C. For detailed survey findings, click here.

Campaign Co-chairs

Ira M. Jacobson, MD, AGAF, chief, division of gastroenterology and hepatology and professor of medicine, The Joan Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY

Michael Ryan, MD, clinical professor of medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School and practicing gastroenterologist with Digestive and Liver Disease Specialists of Norfolk, VA