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All Adult Guidelines

Infectious Disease: Risk Factors and Screen Recommendations

Summaries Text

Individuals with serious mental illness are often at increased risk for acquiring infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and tuberculosis due to a greater likelihood of engaging in high-risk behaviors such as using illicit substances and having multiple sexual partners. When planning to screen patients for infectious diseases, patients should be informed orally and in writing that testing will be performed. Unless they decline, they should receive explanation of the infection, how it can and cannot be acquired, the meaning of positive and negative test results, and the benefits and risks associated with treatment. They should also be offered the opportunity to ask questions and decline testing. This section reviews risk factors and screening recommendations for Hepatitis C (HCV), Hepatitis B (HBV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and tuberculosis (TB).

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