Hepatitis C Treatment in the UK

Recent research by the Journal of Hepatology has found that only 3% of patients who have Chronic Hepatitis C in England are accessing treatment.  If this trend continues, it is thought that in 20 years there will be 1,650 avoidable Hepatitis C deaths every year.

Charles Gore, Chief Executive of the Hepatitis C Trust said “Hepatitis C is a curable disease and to have so few people being offered the change to rid themselves of the virus is simply not acceptable”.

It is thought that there are 160,000 people in the UK with Chronic Hepatitis C.  If untreated, Hepatitis C can lead to liver damage including cirrhosis and cancer which can lead to death.  There is a known treatment regime, with new therapies being developed at the moment.

In 2010 only 5,316 of the 160,000 were being treated, and the take up reduced further in 2011.  The cost of the drugs is expensive, but is funded by the NHS.  Newer treatments which would be oral only are expected soon.

If you are worried about Hepatitis C, then Better2Know can help you to get tested.  We can test for Hepatitis C just 10 days from any incident you are concerned about.