The most rapid increase in cases of acute hepatitis C between 2010 and 2017 was reported among young adults between the ages of 20 and 39 who injected drugs, according to the study. Rates increased especially among Native Americans and Alaska Natives, and non-Hispanic white people.

The risk of sexual transmission of the disease is low, but it increases for people who have multiple partners, who have a sexually transmitted disease or who are infected with H.I.V., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Some people may not be aware of their risk or they may not want to disclose it to you, so the way to capture the most people is to screen everyone,” said Dr. Douglas K. Owens, chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and a professor of medicine at Stanford University. “It also helps reduce the stigma.”

Members of the task force are appointed by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, but it operates independently from the department. The task force makes recommendations, based on evidence, about clinical preventive services.

About 2.4 million Americans are living with hepatitis C. A major challenge for health officials is that hepatitis C complications develop over a period of years, and many people who have contracted it have no symptoms and do not know they are infected.