CDC Issues Guidance for Health Care Personnel Potentially Exposed to HCV

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance for testing and clinical management of health care personnel who have been potentially exposed to hepatitis C virus (HCV). The guidance is based on expert opinion.

The recommendations include:

• CDC recommends testing the source patient and health care personnel within 48 hours following exposure.
• To test the source patient, CDC recommends either a nucleic acid test (NAT) for HCV RNA (preferred, especially if the patient has known or suspected behaviors associated with increased HCV risk), or testing for anti-HCV antibodies, and then for HCV RNA if the antibody test results are positive.
• For health care personnel, if the anti-HCV antibody test results are positive, a NAT for HCV RNA should be performed as soon as possible following exposure and may be conducted simultaneously with source-patient testing.
• If the source patient is HCV RNA positive, anti-HCV positive with unavailable HCV RNA, or has an unknown HCV infection status, follow-up testing with a NAT for HCV RNA is recommended for health care personnel at 3 to 6 weeks following exposure.
• For health care personnel who are HCV RNA negative at 3 to 6 weeks following exposure, a final anti-HCV antibody test is recommended at 4 to 6 months following exposure.
• Source patients or health care personnel who are HCV RNA positive should be referred to appropriate care.
• CDC does not recommend postexposure prophylaxis of HCV for health care personnel with occupational exposure to blood and other bodily fluids.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:
Moorman AC, de Perio MA, Goldschmidt R, et al. Testing and clinical management of health care personnel potentially exposed to hepatitis C virus — CDC guidance, United States, 2020. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2020;69(6):1-8. doi:10.15585/mmwr.rr6906a1