How is England on track to eliminate hepatitis C?

The NHS began rolling out modern antiviral medicines in 2015. The treatment consists of tablets taken for 8 to 12 weeks and cures more than 95% of cases.

Hepatitis C can damage the liver and, if untreated, lead to serious conditions including cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. Many people have no noticeable symptoms until significant liver damage has already occurred.

England has already exceeded the World Health Organization's benchmark of treating 80% of known hepatitis C cases. Deaths linked to the virus have fallen by 36% over the past decade, while effective treatment is estimated to reduce the number of people needing liver transplants by 80% over the next 10 years.

The NHS has also expanded testing to identify people who may have the virus without knowing it. Since 2022, a program offering hepatitis C tests to patients having blood tests in many emergency departments has identified 1,900 previously undiagnosed cases. GP practices are also asking new patients whether they received a blood transfusion before 1996, helping identify people who may have been affected by the contaminated blood scandal.

The NHS is urging people at higher risk to use its free and confidential home-testing service. This includes people who use or previously used injectable drugs, those who have had tattoos abroad and people who moved to England from certain Eastern European countries.

Adults born in Ukraine, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Albania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Czechia or Slovakia are particularly encouraged to get tested. Some may have been exposed to the virus during medical or dental procedures before 1991, when modern sterilization standards were introduced.

NHS National Medical Director Professor Frankie Swords said the health service was "on course to beat the WHO's 2030 target" but needed to maintain efforts to find and treat people with undiagnosed infections.

Paul Eatwell, 65, from Blackburn, Lancashire, was among those treated after a routine liver test led his GP to order a hepatitis C screening. He had no symptoms and was initially surprised by the diagnosis.

Eatwell said treatment involved 1 tablet a day for 12 weeks and several blood tests. He encouraged people who believe they may be at risk to get tested rather than ignore the possibility of infection.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the annual number of new hepatitis B infections has fallen by 32% globally, while hepatitis C-related deaths have dropped by 12%.