Apportioning blame in the North American hepatitis C virus epidemic

A novel investigation into the North American spread of hepatitis C virus permits blame shifting, which the authors Jeffrey Joy and colleagues hope will increase the number of baby boomers who undergo testing.¹ The medical community can now take its share of the responsibility for hepatitis C virus infection in its conversations with the 1945–65 birth cohort. Joy and colleagues offer evidence that the era of high rates of transmission and rapid expansion of hepatitis C virus infections was from 1940 to 1960, when reuse of glass and metal syringes was common medical practice.