An abstract of a study just published in Nature signals  

that mainstream medical associations, like the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), should become proactive by screening for HCV routinely rather than by known risk-factors. 

“Loss of immune escape mutations during persistent HCV infection in pregnancy enhances replication of vertically transmitted viruses” 

A few quotes from the abstract:

• Globally, about 1% of pregnant women are persistently infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Mother-to-child transmission of HCV occurs in 3–5% of pregnancies and accounts for most new childhood infections

• HCV-specific CD8⁺ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are vital in the clearance of acute HCV infections, but in the 60–80% of infections that persist, these cells become functionally exhausted or select for mutant viruses that escape T cell recognition

•  Importantly, the viruses transmitted perinatally were those with enhanced fitness due to reversion of escape mutations. Our findings indicate that the immunoregulatory changes of pregnancy reduce CTL selective pressure on HCV class I epitopes, thereby facilitating vertical transmission of viruses with optimized replicative fitness.

Medical societies know that HCV is contagious, serious, and can be passed on from mother-to-baby.  But pregnant women are only screened routinely for hepatitis B.  If they are HIV-positive, HCV screening is ordered.  But the current risk factor based screening is a flawed concept.  That HCV infects babies is a terrible reality. Screening is easy and fast with the OraQuick HCV test.

The VA could take a national leadership role in this area due to changing veteran demographics:

Women are now the fasting growing subgroup of U.S. Veterans. The number of women Veterans is expected to increase dramatically in the next 10 years, and VA health care is expected to be in high demand by the women Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Please test my mom
for HCV

Specialty care for women includes these conditions and much more: 

• Management and screening of chronic conditions includes heart disease, diabetes, cancer, glandular disorders, osteoporosis, and fibromyalgia as well as sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.
• Reproductive health care includes maternity care, infertility evaluation and limited treatment; sexual problems, tubal ligation, urinary incontinence, and others.

 Let VA help–yes, please do. 

Update: Link to a lay article discussing the 

Nature article in plain language.