USPSTF Updates HBV Screening Recommendations

The US Preventive Services Task Force has released new recommendations for Screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

This update to the group’s 2014 recommendation comes following a review of data published between 2014 and August 2019 with new key questions focusing on the accuracy of tools for identifying those at greatest risk for infection.

The new recommendation states that adolescents and adults at increased risk for HBV should undergo screening (B recommendation), although there was not enough evidence to determine an optimal screening interval.

Among the groups considered to have increased risk:

• Individuals with HIV
• Individuals who use injection drugs
• Men who have sex with men
• Those living with or sexually active with individuals with HBV infection
• Individuals born in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and other areas with 2% or greater prevalence of HBV
• Individuals born in the United States who were not vaccinated in childhood and those with parents born in areas with an 8% or higher prevalence of HBV

—Michael Potts

Reference:

US Preventive Task Force. Screening for hepatitis B virus infection in adolescents and adults: US preventive services task force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2020;324(23):2415-2422. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.22980