North West still tops results for hepatitis C diagnoses for 2008

11 December 2009

This is a decrease from figures reported in 2007 with 1,743 cases but means the region has consistently had the highest figures across England since 1999.

Dr Erika Duffell, a hepatitis C expert from the Health Protection Agency, said: "Hepatitis C is a major public health issue in the North West and despite the increase in testing over recent years, many infections remain undiagnosed. It is critically important that awareness campaigns are sustained and enhanced if we are to encourage individuals at risk of infection to come forward to get tested and treated. If the infection is diagnosed in the early stages, treatment can be offered that can clear the infection in more than half of those treated."

Predictions from the HPA indicate that the future burden of this disease on the health service will be substantial if preventative, diagnostic and treatment services are not escalated. This can already be seen in national mortality figures, hospital admissions and transplant data, which all show that hepatitis C related liver disease is continuing to increase year-on-year.

In the North West the HPA model indicates that in six years time the estimated burden of associated illness will be high, with 1086 individuals likely to have cirrhosis and 1919 individuals dead as a result of hepatitis C infection.

Erika continues: "As it is likely that this is an underestimate of the future disease burden, the need to continue strengthening specialist hepatitis C treatment services as well as general hepatology services is considerable. In the North West, we have given the highest priority to testing individuals and bringing them into treatment for hepatitis C, however more needs to be done to increase awareness and improve access to services."

Currently, the greatest risk of contracting hepatitis in the UK is through sharing equipment for injecting drugs. Sharing injecting equipment, even on a one-off basis, or a long time ago (as many people remain asymptomatic for years), could place an individual at risk of hepatitis C.

In the North West injecting drug users are the key risk group and the prevalence of hepatitis C among this group in the region is the highest in the country. Organisations across the North West are working together to improve prevention services for this key risk group.

Hepatitis C is a viral infection which causes swelling or inflammation of the liver. It is transmitted when the blood of an infected person mixes with a recipient's blood, such as via injecting drug use and the sharing of needles. Because hepatitis C infection is predominantly asymptomatic in the early years, many individuals remain undiagnosed until the disease has progressed. Some infections can remain undiagnosed until end-stage liver disease is reached, when a transplant becomes the only real option.

Ends

For further information please contact Claire Rogers, Press & Communications Officer, HPA North West, on 0151-482-5732 or 07827-954768.

Notes to editors

1. 'Hepatitis C in the UK - 2009 Report' summarises current knowledge about hepatitis C and the action being taken to tackle the infection. To see a full copy of the report, visit:  www.hpa.org.uk/hepC2009
2. It is estimated that currently around 185,000 individuals in the UK are chronically infected with hepatitis C (142,000 in England & Wales, 39,000 in Scotland and 4,000 in Northern Ireland); these individuals are at risk of developing serious liver disease.
3. Anyone who thinks they might have been put at risk of infection should contact their GP or call the Hepatitis C Information Line on 0800 451451 for confidential information and advice, or visit www.nhs.uk/hepc.
4. General information about hepatitis C is available at the HPA website:  http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733827578?p=1191942171149
5. HPA North West information leaflet about hepatitis C is available here:  http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1194947405376
6. Other groups at risk of infection include those who have received a blood transfusion before September 1991 or blood products before 1986 in the UK, as well as those who originate from countries where hepatitis C is endemic. Less common ways to become infected include:
   • from infected mother to baby before or during birth
   • having medical and dental treatment abroad, where unsterile equipment may have been used
   • tattooing or body piercing where unsterile equipment may have been used
   • sharing razors or toothbrushes that may have been contaminated with blood from someone who is infected
     

Last reviewed: 11 December 2009