The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued a statement recommending all baby boomers and middle-aged adults to get themselves screened for Hepatitis C infection.

Last November, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) drafted a recommendation suggesting all middle aged adults should get themselves screened for Hepatitis C infection. As a follow up to the draft, the government-backed panel has issued a final recommendation statement Tuesday,  strongly urging people to get tested. The statement also advises doctors to "consider offering screening" to Baby Boomers.

People born between 1945 and 1965 are commonly known as baby boomers and according to previous reports they are five times more likely to be infected with Hepatitis C. Previous studies have also proven that if the infection is caught in time then treatment helps in lowering the risk of  liver cirrhosis, cancer and death.

"Millions of people in the United States are infected with hepatitis C, and many are unaware of their condition, in large part because they may not have any symptoms," says task force member Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Ph.D., M.D. "Hepatitis C infection is a leading cause of liver damage, liver cancer, and liver transplants in the United States. Screening for hepatitis C can help people who are infected live longer, healthier lives."

The statement also notes that the tools used to screen people for the infection have now become safer and that the side effects of Hepatitis C medication like headaches and flu-like symptoms are "small."

The screening will help in curbing the spread of the infection and a timely treatment can also help save lives

The recommendations have been published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine, as well as on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force website.