Initiating hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment was the largest gap in the HCV care cascade among persons born between 1945 and 1965, although linkage to care was largely successful in this target birth cohort, a new study found. Researchers conducted chart reviews of patients with a new positive HCV antibody test at 3 academic medical centers participating in the Birth-Cohort Evaluation to Advance Screening and Testing of Hepatitis C (BEST-C) study. They tracked receipt of RNA testing, clinical evaluation, treatment initiation, and treatment completion among participants born between 1945-1965 who were newly diagnosed as HCV antibody-positive between December 2012 and October 2015. They found:

• Of 130 HCV-seropositive individuals, 118 (91%) had an RNA or genotype test, 75 (58%) were RNA-positive, and 73 (56%) were linked to care.
• However, only 22 (17% overall, 29% among RNA-positive) started treatment and 21 (16%; 28% among RNA-positive) completed treatment.