On the 25th, Ulsan Ulju-gun Public Health Center announced that starting this year, it will conduct hepatitis C antibody tests as part of the national health checkup for 56-year-olds (born in 1969) and fully cover the cost of confirmatory tests for those who test positive for hepatitis C antibodies.
The newly introduced "hepatitis C antibody test" in the national health checkup is a screening test conducted before confirming current infection status.
Even if a person was infected in the past and has received treatment, resulting in no current infection, the antibody test may still show a positive result, so a "confirmatory test" is necessary to verify current infection status.
The eligible individuals are those who, after undergoing the national health checkup, receive a positive hepatitis C antibody result and then take a confirmatory test at a clinic or hospital (excluding tertiary general hospitals). The full cost of the consultation fee and confirmatory test co-payment will be supported for the first confirmatory test only.
Applications can be made online through the Government24 website or by visiting the public health center in person. The application deadline is March 31 of the year following the national health checkup.
A representative from Ulju-gun Public Health Center stated, "Hepatitis C has no preventive vaccine and is often asymptomatic, but it is a disease that can be completely cured with treatment," adding, "Since early detection of infection is important, we hope that the support project for hepatitis C confirmatory test costs will help activate treatment."
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