By now you probably would have to be living under a rock not to have heard that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is suggesting that all Boomers get tested for Hepatitis C.

Apparently one in 30 of us Baby Boomers is infected with virus, according to the experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And most of us don't know it.

So, the CDC is moving ahead with a proposal that all baby boomers (born between 1945 and 1965) get a blood test to check for the virus. (Prior guidelines had called for testing when someone has known risk factors.)

Clearly the CDC thinks they are going to save a lot of lives with this one-time test. According to their news release:



Apparently most people who have been infected have no idea they are carrying the liver-damaging virus.

* Seems infection rates were highest in the '70s and '80s.

* All told, the CDC figures that one-time testing of people in our age group could uncover 800,000 more cases of infection.

* About 3.2 million people Americans are thought to be infected with the liver-damaging virus.

* Hepatitis C symptoms can be mild or nonexistent, so it's not unusual for someone who's got the virus to be unaware of it.

We've all lived through health- and life-saving campaigns like "Sabin on Sunday," and probably most of us have had our initial colonoscopy by now, to prevent death by colon cancer.

But it seems to me that I should not be at risk for Hep C: I've never had a blood transfusion, nor have I injected myself with illegal drugs....

So do I really need to schedule myself for a Hep C test?

Some articles I've read on this topic suggest the reason for the suggestion that we all be tested is really just another ploy by "Big Pharma." I believe they suggest this because there are now a couple of new Hep C drugs available which can prevent those of us who are carrying Hep C from getting a full-blown case.

So let's talk: What do you think about this? Good idea or not?