Hepatitis C Trust says strategy urgent as related liver disease on the rise

Only 3% of people with hepatitis C are treated each year, yet government is dragging its heels on strategy, says trust

Sarah Boseley, health editor

The Guardian, Monday 14 October 2013 11.40 EDT

Hepatitis C is 'a preventable and curable virus' according to trust's chief executive, Charles Gore. Photograph: Bsip/UIG via Getty Images

Deaths and hospital admissions from liver disease caused by hepatitis C have quadrupled in 15 years and yet the government is dragging its heels over the introduction of a strategy to tackle it, say campaigners.

There are 160,000 people living with the hepatitis C virus in England and yet half of those do not know it, said the Hepatitis C Trust. They are at risk of developing a disease which could destroy their liver and cause their death. Only 3% of people receive treatment each year.

Four years after the government promised a liver disease strategy which would help prevent the needless deaths and save millions of pounds in emergency hospital admissions, little has happened, says the trust.

Its chief executive, Charles Gore, says urgent action is required. "There must be no more excuses for the rising tide of deaths from hepatitis C. It is a preventable and curable virus, yet huge numbers of people still remain undiagnosed and a mere 3% of patients are receiving treatment each year," he said.

"Many people with hepatitis C face a postcode lottery of care due to the lack of a national liver strategy. Four years after it was promised, the government is yet to confirm a publication date."

The urgency of the problem was acknowledged by the health secretary earlier this year.

Paul Goggins, Labour MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East in Greater Manchester, said: "In March the secretary of state for health, Jeremy Hunt, issued a call to action in order to reduce the 30,000 avoidable and premature deaths [from liver diseases] that occur each year.

"The NHS and government must address hepatitis C if we are to reduce the number of premature deaths caused by the rising tide of liver disease."

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus, which has in the past been acquired through blood transfusions, but is most frequently transmitted through the shared use of syringes among injecting drug users. There are also anecdotal reports of new infections caused by home tatooing and piercings.

"The growing popularity of backyard tattooing and piercing, as well as the use of home tattoo kits by unqualified tattooists, is deeply concerning," said Gore. "Wherever blood to blood contact is involved there is a possibility that hepatitis C can be transmitted. Those using these kits or getting tattoos in unregulated premises – both in the UK and abroad – often don't understand the associated risks. This is another route to transmission that is often overlooked."

A new report from the Trust, called The Uncomfortable Truth: Hepatitis C in England, points out that almost half of those admitted to hospital with hepatitis C come from the poorest sectors of society. The costs to the NHS are high: in 2010/11, up to £22 million was spent on emergency admissions for hepatitis C complications.

But the virus is treatable. Gore said: "Instead of letting this virus continue to take the lives of the poorest fastest, we could effectively eradicate it in England within a generation. However, to do this we must diagnose and offer care to everyone, regardless of their geographical location or background."

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