13 Mar 2023 • According to updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults should be tested for hepatitis B virus (HBV) at least once in their lifetime. This is the first update to HBV screening guidelines since 2008, the agency said. What do the current guidelines recommend?

• The guidance now recommends using the triple panel (HBsAg, anti-HBs, total anti-HBc) for initial screening.
• Pregnant people should be screened ideally in the first trimester of each pregnancy, regardless of vaccination status or testing history. Pregnant people who have already received timely triple panel screening for hepatitis B and who have no new HBV exposures only need HBsAg screening, the guidelines state.
• The document added three groups at a higher risk for HBV infection: those incarcerated or formerly incarcerated, people with current or past hepatitis C virus infection, and people with current or past sexually transmitted infections and multiple sex partners.
• Those at higher risk for HBV should be screened periodically.

Source: CDC | Read full story